The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday accused Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, his MP-daughter Misa Bharti and his sons Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav (both Ministers in the Nitish Kumar-led government), of being involved in corrupt land deals worth over ₹ 1,000 crore, and asked the Central government to probe one such transaction in Delhi.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged at a press conference in New Delhi that these transactions were a case of quid pro quo as they date back to the period when Mr. Lalu Prasad was the Railway Minister, and dared Mr. Kumar to take action against the RJD chief.
Mr. Lalu Prasad’s RJD is a constituent of Bihar’s ruling coalition.
Mr. Lalu Prasad’s official residence was the address of the owners of the firms allegedly floated by his family members, Mr. Prasad said. He urged the Election Commission to act against Ms. Misa Bharti, saying she did not disclose the details of these assets in her Rajya Sabha election affidavit. It is a serious case of “misrepresentation” and has very grave implications, he said.
Several suspect land deals took place in Biha r, he said, wondering if Mr. Kumar would invoke a special law enacted by his government in which assets acquired through illicit money are confiscated in this instance.
“The politics of Lalu Prasad has become politics of loot. Land worth crores of rupees was grabbed for a pittance,” he said.
This was “Vadra model of development”, he said, referring to dubious land deals allegedly involving Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra.
“One such land deal involving Lalu Prasad and his family members is in Bijwasan in Delhi, he said. “We expect the central government to take appropriate action,” he added.
All the companies owned by Mr. Lalu Prasad’s family members for the purpose of these land transactions had no employees, no business activities and no turnover, Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad claimed.
Bihar’s biggest shopping mall, spread over 7.5 lakh square feet, was coming up in Patna as part of such dubious transactions, he said.
Taking a dig at Opposition parties over their efforts to unite, the Minister asked if their proposed alliance is meant to be a cover for corruption and if “rank corruption will be covered in the name of secularism“.
He said JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury should respond to these charges against Mr. Lalu Prasad and his family members.
