Lalu, Nitish playing sympathy card on ED raids: BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi

Patna, March 11 (IANS) BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday claimed that RJD national president Lalu Prasad and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are playing sympathy card over the raids of CBI and ED in connection with the land-for-jobs scam.

Addressing mediapersons here, Modi said: "There is no law in the country which bars investigating agencies not to conduct raids or ask questions to pregnant women and ill persons. Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar are playing sympathy cards on CBI and ED raids."

"Nitish Kumar should announce that Bihar police would not conduct raids on the houses where pregnant women, ill persons or where children are residing. The sympathy card would not work for them. Lalu Prasad was involved in corruption and law is taking its own course," the BJP leader said.

Modi's statement came a day after Lalu Prasad said the ED "sent" by the BJP has posed questions to his pregnant daughter in-law Rajshree Yadav for 15 hours and his grandchildren and daughters were also "made to sit" for that long.

Modi asked Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav to reveal how he owned a luxury house in the upscale locality of Delhi at such a young age. When Tejashwi Yadav was 29-year-old, he was the owner of 52 properties.

"Instead of answering these questions, he and other members of Lalu family are crying foul," Modi said.

"Two persons are responsible for the plight of Lalu Prasad and they are Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and JD-U national president Lalan Singh. They have provided the documents of IRCTC land-for-jobs case to the CBI. Lalan Singh was the one who in 2008 wrote a letter about the scam to former prime minister Manmohan Singh. As the UPA government was in power, no action taken against him. When the regime changed in 2014, Lalan Singh became active again and he had provided the documents to CBI pertaining to this scam. Nitish Kumar compromised with corrupt persons and hence he is taking the favour of Lalu Prasad," Modi said.

"CBI has strong evidence against Lalu Prasad and his family members. Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav should answer who was Hridayanand Chaudhary. He was the fourth grade employee in India railways who obtained the job with the help of Lalu Prasad. He had gifted a piece of land to Lalu's one of the daughters Chanda Yadav worth Rs 60 lakh. Can Lalu Prasad deny it," Modi asked.

"When the first raid was conducted on Lalu Prasad's premises in connection with the fodder scam, at that time the UPA government was in power. When he went to jail for the first time, it was not during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government's tenure but the UPA government. The FIR in the IRCTC scam was also registered during the tenure of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. So, don't blame BJP," he said.

"One has to reap what he sows," he said.