CBI targeted Lalu Prasad Yadav as he refused to shake hands with BJP, says Tejashwi Yadav

After a CBI court on Monday sentenced former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to five years imprisonment in the fifth fodder scam case, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Tejashwi Yadav claimed that his father was targetted because he refused to shake hands with the BJP.

Tejashwi Yadav minced no words in charging agencies like CBI and ED with having become a "prakoshth" (wing) of the BJP which has been ruling the Centre for seven years.

Tejashwi Yadav said people will respond with 'vote ki chot' (electoral backlash) in poll-bound neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and again the Lok Sabha elections scheduled in 2024.

"If Lalu Ji would have shaken hands with the BJP then he would have been called Raja Harishchandra. But he is fighting against RSS- BJP. Hence, he is facing imprisonment. We'll not get scared with this", Tejashwi Yadav told ANI on conviction of his father and the former Chief Minister of Bihar.

He further stated, "Lalu ji has said that he would never bow down to the BJP." Further speaking on the verdict, Tejashwi Yadav said that the CBI has forgotten other scamsters like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi while they were after Lalu Prasad Yadav's case. "Apart from the fodder scam, it seems like no other scam has happened in the country. In Bihar, almost 80 scams happened but where is the CBI, ED, NIA? The CBI has forgotten Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi", said the RJD leader.

He also said that he would appeal in the High Court. "The CBI court has sentenced Lalu ji in the case. We will now go to the High Court. There are still High Court and Supreme Court. I believe that the verdict in the higher courts will be in favour of Lalu ji." "People of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are watching the way the BJP is treating Lalu ji. The people of UP will give an answer in the elections," he added.

Claiming that his father was innocent, Yadav pointed out that as the then Bihar chief minister, Prasad had himself initiated action in the fodder scam and hoped "justice" will be done when their appeal was decided by the High Court.

"But fodder scam involved only a thousand crores. Under the NDA government headed by Nitish Kumar, Bihar has witnessed siphoning off of two lakh crores. But there has been no action", alleged Yadav who had served as Kumar's deputy for two years until the JD(U) leader snapped ties with RJD.

Nonetheless, the leader of the opposition claimed that his father enjoyed "unflinching support" of the people of Bihar, as evident from RJD emerging as the single largest party in assembly polls in 2015 and again five years later.

(With inputs from Agencies)