Patna
With a spate of troubles gripping the family of former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi said she will observe Chhath puja, an ancient Hindu Vedic religious ceremony, once again. The rituals of this festival are rigorous and are observed over a period of four days, which include bathing, fasting and abstaining from drinking water, standing in water for long and offering prayers to the setting and rising Sun.
The last time Devi had observed this festival was in 2015 when Lalu’s RJD party returned to power after a decade and both his sons were appointed as ministers in the erstwhile Grand Alliance government. However, she skipped the festival last year owing to falling health.
Family members say its fallout was “disastrous”. Not only did the RJD lose power in the state with chief minister Nitish Kumar returning to the BJP camp, but also almost her entire family has been accused in various corruption cases, forcing them to make the rounds of courts.
Devi herself was made an accused in the land-for-hotel scam along with her husband Prasad and younger son Tejashwi Yadav, former deputy chief minister.
“She will observe the Chhath puja this time again. The preparations will begin shortly after Diwali (festival of lights),” RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav told the media yesterday.
As such the entire family has been under probe by investigating agencies over various corruption cases registered against them recently.
Last week, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned Devi for questioning in the land-for-railway hotel scam, after questioning Prasad and his son Tejashwi. Devi managed to skip the meeting.
The summons to Devi came shortly after the ED had grilled Tejashwi on October 10 for nine hours in connection with money laundering probe into the railway hotel scam. As per informed sources, the agency asked Tejashwi some 40 questions but he answered most in the negative.
The quizzing came soon after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) quizzed him in the same case on October 6.
Barely a day earlier on October 5, the CBI had grilled Tejashwi’s father Lalu Prasad in regards to the same case. The agency is expected to also quiz his wife Rabri Devi in the case.
Fresh cases of corruption came to haunt the family shortly after the CBI registered a case against them in July last and also conducted a raid at their residence in Patna for allegedly extending favours to a private party in award of contract for maintenance of railway hotels by the RJD president. The alleged deal had taken place when Prasad served as the federal railway minister in the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
The CBI FIR alleges that Prasad, as railway minister, handed over the maintenance of two IRCTC hotels to a company after receiving a bribe in the form of prime land in Patna through a ‘benami’ (fictitious) company owned by Sarla Gupta. The FIR was registered on July 5 in connection with favours allegedly extended to Sujata Hotels in awarding a contract for the upkeep of the hotels in Ranchi and Puri and receiving premium land as ‘quid pro quo’.
However, the RJD chief Prasad has accused the Narendra Modi government of adopting double standards while acting against corruption.
“The assets of (BJP president) Amit Shah registered 300 per cent growth in the past five years, while his son’s property grew by 16,000 per cent in the last three years. Had this been the case with the opposition leaders, the Narendra Modi government would have hurriedly ordered a probe,” said Prasad.
His party spokesman launched an even more stinging attack on the BJP over corruption. “The speed with which Amit Shah’s son property grew is not being maintained by even bullet trains!” mocked Shakti Singh Yadav.
