If Lalu would have shaken hands with BJP then he would have been called Raja Harishchandra: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday said if his father and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had shaken hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) then he would have been called Raja Harishchandra. His comments came after a CBI court today sentenced Lalu Prasad Yadav to five years imprisonment in the fifth fodder scam case and imposed a fine of Rs 60 lakhs on him.

Speaking on his father's conviction, Tejashwi said, "If Lalu Ji would have shaken hands with BJP then he would have been called Raja Harishchandra but today he is fighting against RSS- BJP hence he is facing imprisonment. We'll not get scared with this."

Tejashwi said that he would not comment on the court verdict, but added that this isn't the last judgment. "High Court, Supreme court are there. We've challenged it in the High court and we are hopeful that the judgment of lower court will change in High Court," the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar said.

Targeting the CBI, Tejashwi said that the central agency has forgotten the scams done by Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi. "Apart from fodder scam, it seems no scam has happened in the country. In Bihar, almost 80 scams have happened but where is CBI, ED, NIA? In country there is only one scam and one leader," he added.

Meanwhile, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi on Monday welcomed the sentencing of RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam, saying the court has taken an appropriate decision in the matter.

"It is rightly said as you sow, so shall you reap," she said.

Besides, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar chuckled at allegations of political vendetta leveled against his ally BJP by supporters of his arch rival Lalu Prasad.

"He (Lalu) had to give up the Chief Minister's chair and install his wife in his place. There have been many cases (related to fodder scam) and he has been convicted in many of these. There may be some more", said Kumar in response to queries about allegations that the ailing RJD supremo, on the wrong side of 70, was paying the price for his stout opposition to the BJP which now rules the Centre.

"I am not among those who had filed litigation against him", the JD(U) leader said, with a ghost of smile on his lips, adding "but he now has many people around him who were among litigants. One such person has been some time with him, some time with me and had even sought to make me a co-petitioner, but I refused to be drawn into the matter".

Published on: Monday, February 21, 2022, 04:46 PM IST