CBI raids RJD MPs, MLC in land for jobs case on day of Nitish govt’s floor test

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday morning raised the residences of three leaders of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in connection with the “land-for-jobs” case. The case dates back to RJD supremo Lalu Yadav’s tenure as Railway minister in the UPA-I government. Two weeks ago, Janata Dal (United) parted ways with the BJP and joined hands with the Lalu’s party.

CBI teams reached the homes of RJD’s Rajya Sabha MPs Ahmad Ashfaque Karim and Dr Faiyaz Ahmad, and Sunl Singh, a Member of Legislative Council (MLC) in Bihar. The raids are being carried out on a day when the Nitish Kumar-led government backed by RJD takes a test of majority in the assembly.

NDTV quoted former Bihar CM and Tejashwi Yadav’s mother Rabri Devi as saying: “They’re scared. A new government has been formed under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. All parties, except BJP, are with us. We have the majority. The CBI (raids) are just to scare us. We won’t be scared. This isn’t happening for the first time.”

An RJD spokesperson had tweeted last night that the CBI and other central agencies are preparing for raids because the BJP was “furious” over losing power in Bihar,

“Furious BJP allies CBI, ED, IT are preparing for raids in Bihar very soon. The gathering has started in Patna. Tomorrow is an important day,” he had tweeted.

“This is being done intentionally. There is no meaning. They are doing it hoping that our MLAs will join them out of fear,” Sunil Singh said after his Patna home was raided.

However, the BJP said that the raids were being conducted against “notorious politicians”, claiming that even “RJD workers are happy today.” “They feel these people should meet this end,” he said.

In May this year, Lalu Yadav and several of his family members were charged in a corruption case alleging irregularities in recruitment for railway jobs between 2004 and 2009, as per various media reports. According to the CBI, Yadav and his family members received land and properties as bribes for giving out railway jobs.

-INDIA NEWS STREAM