Did Nitish get money in fodder scam?

Patna, (BiharTimes):The five years imprisonment for Lalu in fodder scam was certainly a black day for him as he would also lose his Lok Sabha membership after supreme court ruling but this is no occasion for celebration for his arch political rival and bête noir Nitish Kumar and his party which replaced Laloo from the seat of power in Bihar eight years back.

When media persons caught him for his reaction on the verdict, he simply said what to comment on this issue. We didn’t comment on judicial process. This reaction was quite unexpected in media circle as Kumar didn’t leave any chance to attack his prime political opponents for last so many years. All JDU leaders were guarded on their reaction on the judgment.

Party sources said the top party leadership had given instruction to party leaders to avoid making comment on the conviction of Lalu.

Why Kumar’s reaction is not in tune with earlier occasions when Lalu was sent to jail ?

It’s not only the two senior party leaders who were also convicted, one being  a  senior JD (U)  leader and former chief minister Jagannath Mishra whose son Nitish Mishra is a cabinet minister in Bihar government and another one is his party MP from Jehanabad Jagdish Sharma. Incidentally Sharma’s son is also an MLA from JDU. Sharma would be another MP that too from JD (U) to lose his Lok Sabha seat.

But the real fear haunting Nitish is something else.

On 20th September Justice R R Prasad of Jharkhand High Court had directed the CBI to file a counter-affidavit on a writ seeking to make Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Janata Dal (United) Rajya Sabha MP, Shivanand Tiwari, accused in the Rs 950 crore fodder scam. The Court asked the CBI to file a counter affidavit explaining why Nitish and Shivanand should not be charged as accused in the scam. It fixed November 22 to hear the case.

This direction came when a social activist Mithilesh Kumar Singh filed a public interest litigation urging the court to make Nitish along with Shivanand Tewary as accused in the fodder scam as they were allegedly been paid money by scamesters .

Although his earlier plea was rejected by the Special CBI court twice  he continued his move and moved to high court.

In a confessional statement made before CBI in May 1996, the kingpin of the fodder scam late Shyam Bihari  Sinha said that Rs one crore was paid to Nitish Kumar in 1994 to meet expenses  in then ensuing election.

According to confessional statement which has been procured through RTI by Mithilesh Kumar Singh,the money was paid to these politicians through Umesh Prasad Singh, who was working as section officer in Bihar's Cabinet Vigilance Department at that time.

In his confessional statement Sinha said that during his visit to Delhi in October or November of 1994 Umesh Singh contacted him and said that Nitishji wanted money for meeting expenditure of coming assembly election in March 1995. After returning he discussed the matter with other members of scamesters committee. Later he directed Vijay Kumar Mallik to pay Rs 1 crore to Umesh Singh for Nitish Kumar. Mallick paid the amount through Umesh Singh. “Later Nitish Kumar told me that Umesh Singh came to meet him and thanked him for the monetary support” Sinha alleged.

Mithilesh  Singh on the basis of confessional statement said that 1.4 crore was paid to Nitish along with a ticket to Australia and an amount of  five lac was given for making necessary purchase before making Australia trip

Regarding Shivanand Tewary he alleged that Shivanand Tiwari had demanded Rs 50 lakh through Singh. Tewary also threatened to file a case in the Patna High Court against the working of Animal Husbandary Department. “However later he was paid Rs 40 lacs and 25 lacs in two installments” said Mithilesh Kumar Singh who got the copy of confession through RTI. “He was also paid five lacs for arranging the marriage ceremony of his daughter” further elaborated Singh.

In a separate confession before CBI, Umesh Singh also alleged that he handed over one suit case of notes  to Shivanand Tewary and three suit cases at the residence of   Sudha Shrivastava for Lalan Singh,  informed Singh.

While elaborating his move Mithilesh Singh told BT that when most of the accused were prosecuted purely on the basis of the confessional statement of  Shyam Bihari Sinha then why the names of Shivanand Tewary and Nitish Kumar were dropped.

 Then CBI SP Javed Ahmed had also filed an affidavit before Patna High Court alleging that Nitish was involved in the fodder scam case. However, the CBI chose not to pursue the matter.

CPI-ML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said,” The CBI  of course will have to explain why it spared leaders like Nitish Kumar, Shivanand Tiwari and Lallan Singh. Is it because during the crucial early years of the CBI probe the NDA was in power”

Even Rabri devi has threatened that she would go to the masses and let them know why some other leaders were not touched by the CBI when they received money and Laluji was punished when they got nothing .This startling revealation also gives fresh salvo to BJP to attack Nitish Kumar.Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad who was also a lawyer in the fodder scam case said,” Nitish would follow Lalu. elder brother (Lalu Prasad) is in jail and it is now the turn of the younger brother (Nitish Kumar). His name figures in the fodder scam and hence he too will have to go to jail.”