Bihar BJP leader Sushil Modi, on Wednesday on Wednesday demanded that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar take whatever action is “within his remit” against Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and his brother and Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav over charges of graft against them.
He demanded that Mr. Kumar dismiss his deputy as three properties connected to him had been attached by enforcement agencies.
Mr. Modi alleged that Mr. Kumar was indirectly patronising corruption by protecting his Ministers. At a press conference in New Delhi, Mr. Modi said Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad acquired 125 pieces of property in Patna, Delhi and Kolkata during 2004-2009 when he the Union Minister for Railways and during 2000-2005 when his wife, Rabri Devi, was the Chief Minister of Bihar.
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“I have been disclosing his [Lalu Prasad] family’s property details for the last 90 days. They have acquired more than 125 properties in the last 12 years without any real business or industry. Lalu Prasad is Bihar’s Robert Vadra,” Mr. Modi said.
He also claimed that two senior RJD leaders had met two Union Ministers to request them to save the political career of Mr. Prasad’s sons — Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav. The Ministers rejected the request, Mr. Modi said. He did not disclose the names of the people allegedly involved in this conversation.
“From being the son of poor parents, Lalu Prasad Yadav has become the biggest landlord of Bihar, a title earlier reserved for the likes of the Maharaja of Darbhanga etc. He has become the Robert Vadra of Bihar,” Mr. Modi said.
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Mr. Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, has been accused of acquiring properties in violation of rules and selling some of them at high prices soon after acquisition using his influence.
Targeting Mr. Kumar, he said the Chief Minister’s claims of zero tolerance towards corruption rang hollow as he had “kept quiet” about the corruption charges against Mr. Prasad and his family members.