NEW DELHI: On Tuesday, Bihar’s Ex-Deputy Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader, Tejashwi Yadav, appeared at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Patna. He is set to undergo questioning regarding the land-for-jobs case. This development follows the extensive 10-hour questioning of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad in connection with the same case.
The investigative federal agency, examining the money laundering aspect of the case, had issued summonses to Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav on January 19 when they did not appear on previous occasions. Tejashwi Yadav was subsequently summoned for questioning on Tuesday.
“This is not a new thing. This greeting card is being sent to those who are not coming with them. Whenever any agency calls our family, we go there and cooperate with them and answer their questions,” Misa Bharti, daughter of Lalu Yadav and a Rajya Sabha MP, told the media on Monday when she came to receive her father from ED’s Patna office.
Rohini Acharya, another daughter of Lalu, voiced her frustration at the ED’s interrogation of her father and criticised the actions of the central agency.
“Sab ko malum hai papa ki kya halat hai, bina madad ke chal nahi sakte phir bhi kitna giroge gidaro…Yeh gudri ka lal Lalu hai, sher akela hai, kamjor nahi,” (Everyone knows my father’s health condition, he can’t walk without support but how low will you jackals get? This is poor man’s son Lalu, the lion is alone but not weak), she wrote on microblogging site X.
What does the land-for-jobs case entail?
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initially filed a case based on accusations that during Lalu Yadav’s tenure as Union railway minister from 2004-09, he exchanged railway jobs in Group D positions for plots of land, which were either gifted or sold at significantly reduced prices by the recipients to his family members.
The case has implicated Lalu’s spouse, Rabri Devi, as well as Misa and another daughter, Hema Yadav, along with 12 additional individuals. In 2023, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches at locations associated with Lalu Yadav and his family members.