Lalu Prasad, the national head of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), arrived in Patna on Monday. On Tuesday, he was asked by the CBI court in New Delhi to appear in court for a hearing in one of the Rs 1,000 crore fodder scam cases. The illicit withdrawal of Rs 46 lakh from the Banka district treasury is the subject of the case before the CBI court in Patna. Six fodder fraud cases were filed against the RJD head, five in Jharkhand and one in Bihar. He was convicted in four instances in Jharkhand and was released on bail in April this year after serving around three and a half years in prison.
He had already visited Patna on October 24 to campaign for the two Assembly bypolls, but had to return to Delhi on November 3 due to illness. He is diabetic and suffers from a variety of cardiac and renal problems. Before departing Delhi, the RJD chairman criticised Nitish Kumar, the Bihar chief minister, over prohibition, hooch tragedies, and police raids on weddings in search of booze.
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The state lost money, and individuals died as a result. Liquor is being delivered to people’s homes throughout the state,” Lalu remarked. The 74-year-old politician, who is known for his rustic appeal, said that he assured Nitish in 2016 that prohibition would prevail due to the state’s geographic position.
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The RJD leader also said that he had approached Nitish about removing prohibition, but that it was now up to the government to decide. He said that his party and the Congress were still working together, and that Lok Janshakti Party chairman Chirag Paswan should join them as well. Apart from visiting the court, Lalu will light and dedicate a six-tonne stone lantern at his party’s state headquarters to commemorate the party’s silver anniversary year. It will be powered by gas and will burn continually. The RJD’s electoral emblem is a lantern. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the party’s founding.
