Nitish ‘destroying’ Srijan scam evidence, alleges Lalu
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday accused chief minister Nitish Kumar of ‘destroying evidence’ in the multi-crore Srijan scam, by having his ‘favourite’ officer, who also ‘happens to be of his caste’, to lead the economic offences unit (EOU) probe into one of the biggest financial frauds.
“Can an officer, who has participated in programmes of Srijan in the capacity of senior SP of Bhagalpur, ensure an impartial inquiry into the scam?” asked Prasad, wondering as to why the EOU could not lodge any FIR in the case even a fortnight after the inquiry was launched.
The RJD chief was particularly upset over the decision to send EOU IG JS Gangwar to probe the case, even though he had participated in a number of programmes of the non-governmental organisation, Srijan, when he was SSP of Bhagalpur. Prasad, however, did not name the officer.
Srijan has been found to have hundreds of crores of rupees of government money into its accpunts over many years, fraudulently.
The RJD leader asked the CM as to why action was not initiated against the guilty even when the matter was brought to the light in 2013 by the EOU. “Why the district magistrate of Bhagalpur, who lodged the FIR against Srijan, was transferred hurriedly? And what happened to the DM’s report about the scam? Why did the state government try to hush up the financial scam, even as the CAG in its 2008 report had busted in,” asked Prasad.
Slamming the chief minister for propagating ‘falsehood’ about the RJD’s bid to break the JD(U), Prasad alleged that Kumar had been in the habit of telling lies. “He (Kumar) had once said he would prefer being ruined (mitti mein mil jayenge) than to join hands with the BJP. But now, he has fallen at the BJP’s feat,” said Prasad.
The RJD chief said he had asked the participants of his ‘Desh Bachao, Bhajapa Bachao’ rally, in Patna, on August 27, to come with one fistful of soil for the CM.
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bihar to oversee flood situation, Prasad said the PM was coming here to discuss the BJP’s plan of preponing the state elections and hold it along with Lok Sabha polls, due in 2019.
“Modi is coming here to divert the people’s attention from the RJD rally. What is meaning of his visit, when flood is on receding trend,” asked the RJD leader.
Regarding the participation of leaders of other parties in the RJD rally, Prasad claimed that Congress’ Ghulam Nabi Azad and CP Joshi would represent the party in the programme, while BSP chief Mayavati had deputed Satish Mishra to attend it.
“JD(U) Rajya Sabha member Sharad Yadav and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee are among those slated to address the rally,” said the RJD chief.
