Patna,(BiharTimes): Former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi is the only BJP or NDA bigwigs to have come out with a series of charges against Lalu Prasad, his family and other RJD leaders. He claims that he is getting all these information from the sources within the ruling alliance. This has raised speculations about possible rift between JD(U) and RJD. But senior journalist Nalin Verma, while talking to BiharTimes, refused to accept it stating that Nitish Kumar went into alliance fully knowing that Lalu is convicted in a fodder scam case. So he would prefer to remain silent rather than risk his own government. He used to remain silent when rivals would attack the BJP when the latter was in alliance with JD(U).
Besides, other political observers are of the view that all these issues, which SuMo is raising, are not new, but old ones when the price of the land plots on the outskirts of Patna was much lower. The issue of the land deal was even raised by Lallan Singh, now a minister, when he was a senior JD(U) leader and a strong critic of Lalu, about a decade back.
The latest attack came on (April 11) when SuMo alleged that Lalu Prasad’s family had become owners of prime land in Patna worth crores of rupees earlier owned by AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd.
He presented documents to support his charges that the company was incorporated on September 28, 2006, by Amit Katyal and Rajesh Katyal who had set up a liquor factory called Iceberg Industries Pvt Ltd at Bihta in Patna district.
In the fodder scam of 1996 all the political rivals of Lalu spoke strongly against him. Though it is early days now yet it is a fact that today only SuMo is vocal. This is in spite of the fact that unlike in 1996, when the Janata Dal-led United Front government was in power, this time the BJP-led NDA is strongly placed in Delhi. Yet none of the Union minister has so far spoken against Lalu’s alleged land deal.
In 1996 Lalu Prasad was the national president of the Janata Dal and was instrumental in making H D deve Gowda as the prime minister; today his RJD is much weak and is an alliance partner of Janata Dal (United) and Congress.
Not only other BJP leaders even the NDA partners are silent. In fact the president of Hindustani Awam Morcha, Jitan Ram Manjhi, is a bit soft towards Lalu and harsh towards chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Political observers are of the view that something somewhere is seriously wrong in the state BJP embroiled in controversy. The Lal Babu Prasad Gupta sexual harassment case, and that too in the state Assembly premises, has brought shame to the saffron party. Ironically, many leaders close to SuMo have strongly denounced the state party president Nityanand Rai for taking action Lal Babu a former state unit vice president.
BJP leaders like Sudhir Sharma and former minister Sunil Kumar Pintu, both said to be SuMo loyalists, went to the extent of calling Rai a mafia.
Analysts believe that as Lalu is a favourite whipping boy, SuMo might have launched this attack on him to distract the attention of the media from the trouble within the BJP.
