Land-for-jobs scam: ED interrogates Tejashwi; RJD attacks Centre
Tejashwi was accompanied by his sister and Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti, brother Tej Pratap Yadav, and lawmaker Manoj Jha.
Former Bihar deputy chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav was interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case linked to the land-for-jobs scam on Tuesday, a day after his father and former chief minister Lalu Prasad was quizzed in the matter.
According to people aware of the details, Tejashwi arrived at the ED office in Patna at 11:25am, as a large number of party workers and supporters, who gathered at the premises, raised slogans against the federal agency and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government.
Tejashwi was accompanied by his sister and Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti, brother Tej Pratap Yadav, and lawmaker Manoj Jha. His statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The interrogation lasted for more than nine hours, as he left the ED office, showing the victory sign, at 8:05pm, the people cited above said.
On Monday, Lalu was quizzed for 10 hours in the case.
READ | Lalu Prasad leaves ED office after 9 hours of questioning in land-for-jobs case
The land-for-jobs scam pertains to appointments in the Railways allegedly in return of land parcels for Lalu’s family between 2004 and 2009, when he was the Union railways minister.
ED is conducting a probe on the basis of a first information report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). On January 9, the federal agency, which said it has found proceeds of crime worth ₹600 crore, filed its first charge sheet in the case, naming Lalu’s wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and their daughters, Misa and Hema Yadav, among seven accused. Neither Lalu nor Tejashwi has been named as an accused in this charge sheet.To be sure, agencies often file supplementary charge sheets as the investigation progresses.
ED earlier claimed it has found proceeds of crime worth ₹600 crore in the case. These include the bungalow in New Friends Colony in Delhi that, the federal agency says, is worth ₹150 crore. Officials said that during searches in connection with the case, Tejashwi was found staying and using the bungalow as his residential property.
In October 2022, CBI filed its charge sheet against Lalu, Devi, Misa and 13 others in the case. In March last year, a Delhi court granted bail to Lalu, Rabri, Misa and others in CBI’s case.
The RJD claimed the BJP’s top leadership is “afraid” of opposition parties, and it is targeting them by “misusing” central investigation agencies ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
“It is not ED. Call it BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah … they are doing it with all those who have the courage to stand up against them. If the scenario changes after the elections, they should know the same can also recoil,” Jha said.
Deputy chief minister and BJP state president Samrat Choudhary said it was an old corruption case that is now hounding Lalu and his son. “Lalu ji gulped down fodder when he was the chief minister and got land registered in lieu of jobs when he was railway minister. ED is investigating the corruption case,” he said.
Lalu spent almost 42 months in jail after being convicted in various fodder scams.
