Lalu Prasad Yadav
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Contents |
Biographical highlights
The Times of India, Nov 09 2015
Can't contest for 11 years but Lalu wins match for Nitish
Despite an uncertain future following his conviction in the fodder scam (he's currently out on bail), Lalu proved in 2015 that he remains one of the principal poles of Bihar politics. This even though his conviction renders him ineligible for contesting elections for at least six years after he finishes serving the five-year sentence. This election was yet another milestone in the life of the cow herd who has exploited his caste identity , inimitable communication skills and political cunning to craft an odds-defying political career.
His street smartness became evident when he moved from his village to live in the frugal peons' quarters of Patna Veterinary College, where his brothers were employed. He soon became a successful student leader. Lalu's ideological moorings were not that strong, but he more than made up for that with his flamboyance and people skills. On March 18, 1974, when police fired upon student protesters leading to several deaths, Lalu declared himself dead. He passed on the “information“ to newspaper offices, besides telling milkmen to spread the word about the death of a “prominent Yadav leader“. Tthe episode helped him create curiosity about himself, Lalu admitted.
Imprisonment during Emergency--he named his first child Misa because he had been detained under Maintenance of Internal Security Act--lent him a seriousness that many thought he had lacked till then. It also propelled him to Lok Sabha in 1977.
He lost the LS election in 1980 and 1984, but won the So nepur assembly seat in consecutive elections. The untimely demise of socialist giant Karpoori Thakur in 1988 helped Lalu become leader of opposition: a breakthrough achieved with the help of Nitish Kumar. He got elected to LS in 1989 but his heart was set on Patna. The 1990 state elections saw Janata Dal eking out a narrow victory, and Lalu became CM.
His unconventional style created ripples. He would land in government offices for what he called “auchak nirikshan“ or “surprise inspections“, and summon fire tenders to hose mud-caked kids in Dalit `bastis'. Even as bureaucrats tried to come to terms with the man who found files a pain and was more comfortable sitting cross-legged in lungi and khadi vest with the ubiquitous spittoon not far away , Lalu caught the imagination of the masses, Yadavs as well as OBCs.
The excitement was about to wear thin when Devi Lal fell out with V P Singh. But Lalu and other Tau proteges like Nitish switched support to V P Singh in exchange for his commitment to implemen the Mandal Commission re port. This established him as the leader of OBCs. The sup port of OBCs and Muslims helped him sweep the 1991 LS elections and, later, survive the revolt by Nitish. He won the 1995 state elections on his own steam and seemed set to realise his aspiration to be PM after the 1996 LS polls when the fodder scam derailed him.
He lost the 2005 state polls and was routed in the 2009 LS polls and 2010 assembly polls as well. His conviction and disqualification from contesting polls, the defeat of his wife and daughter in the 2014 LS polls and the issue of who should succeed him pulled him down.
He appeared to be at an existential crossroad until Nov 2015 when he emerged as the single largest player and took credit for the “coronation“ of “chhota bhai“ Nitish as CM.
Ill-gotten assets
Ministers gave property to Prasad's family
Ex-RJD mantri: Gave Lalu kin land, it wasn't quid pro quo, April 29, 2017: The Times of India
RJD Neta: Members Try To Financially Empower Party Chief
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) admitted that former Union ministers Raghunath Jha and Kanti Singh gave property to party chief Lalu Prasad's family, but denied that it was quid pro quo. The statement came a day after senior BJP member Sushil Kumar Modi accused Lalu of acquiring properties from Jha and Singh in exchange for ministerial berths in the UPA-I government.
Singh not only accepted that she and her family gave 30 katthas of land (approx. 41,400 sq ft) at Danapur, Patna district, on lease to Lalu's wife and former Bihar CM Rabri Devi in 2006, but also said they registered it in Rabri's name in 2010. Modi had alleged that Singh and her family leased out the land to Rabri for 99 years on a monthly rent of Rs 1,250 for a Union Cabinet berth.
“Laluji's family had to vacate the CM's official residence after RJD lost the 2005 assembly elections. Laluji had around 100 cows and he had to shift them to another place. So, I leased out my plot at Danapur as a temporary arrangement and later sold it to Rabri in 2010 for Rs1 crore as my family needed money after I lost the 2009 elections,“ Singh added.
Modi countered Singh's claims and said the land she registered in Rabri's name was different from the one she had leased out to her. “The land Kanti Singh is talking about is a 62-decimal (roughly 27,000 sqft) plot adjacent to the 95-decimal (approx. 41,400 sq ft) leased out to Rabri. Kanti Singh sold this particular piece of land to Lalu's two sons -Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap -for Rs 60.36 lakh in 2010,“ Modi alleged.
Jha's son Ajit Kumar Jha also admitted that his father had gifted a plot in Gopalganj to Tejashwi and Tej Pratap in 2005, but emphasised that it was a “personal“ transaction. “Zameen mera, hum usko kisko gift karein, usse kisiko kya matlab hai (The land is ours.How does it concern anyone else if we gift it to someone)?“ Ajit said. He added that his father's ministerial stint under UPA-I wasn't his first. “My father was state (Bihar) minister of various important departments... between 1980-83 and 1990-95. Besides, he was an MLA from 1972 to 1998 and became MP in 1999 and 2009.He was in the prime of his political career even before he gifted the land. Hence, the allegation of seeking favours is baseless,“ Ajit added.
Addressing newsmen, RJD functionary Jagdanand Singh said: “Lalu is our leader. He fights for social justice. Hence, other leaders try to financially empower him in order to make him strong enough to lead the movement.“
Cattle-shed worker `gifted' Rabri land worth Rs 31 lakh
`Benami Assets Used To Convert Black Money'
Leader of opposition in the Bihar legislative council Sushil Kumar Modi alleged that former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi had been gifted a 1,088sqft land near Saguna Mor valued at Rs 30.9 lakh on January 25, 2014, by Lalan Choudhary , an employee of a cattle shed run by her family , in order to convert their black money.
Furnishing documents, the senior BJP member claimed that Choudhary , a resident of Barharia block in Siwan, bought the land along with a house for Rs 3.90 lakh on March 30, 2009, from one Rameshwar Prasad Yadav.
Five years later, the same land was gifted to RJD chief Lalu Prasad's wife when its value had risen to Rs 30.90 lakh, Modi said.
Modi, who has held 20 press conferences in the last two months to expose the benami properties of the Lalu clan, questioned the purpose of gifting the land to Rabri.
He quoted a clause from documents related to transfer of land, which stated, “The donor (Choudhary) is very close to the done (Rabri) for a long time and the done is also financially helping and rendering service to him for a long time and therefore the donor disclosed his intense desire to gift his said property .“ “What kind of financial aid was Rabri providing to Choudhary that he gifted such a high-value land to her? Why did he agree to suffer a loss of Rs 27 lakh while gifting the land to Rabri?“ Modi asked on the sidelines of his weekly ja nata darbar.
“Rabri purchased the land at undervalued price in the name of Choudhary using her black money and got it gifted to herself after five years,“ he said.
Modi, a former Bihar deputy CM, asked Lalu's family to disclose the actual identity of Choudhary and the purpose of gifting the land to Rabri.
“The modus operandi of the Lalu family is to acquire benami properties at throwaway prices,“ Modi said.
He had earlier accused Lalu of acquiring properties from former RJD MPs Raghunath Jha and Kanti Singh in lieu of offering them ministerial berths.
Charges against the family: A 2017 backgrounder
HIGHLIGHTS
Lalu purchased expensive property at throwaway rates by buying and selling shares in dubious front companies.
Misha Bharti and her spouse acquired a farmhouse at Bijwasan where many rich own properties, for a mere Rs 1.41 crore. A complex web of shady transactions has exposed how family members of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad purchased expensive property at throwaway rates by buying and selling shares in dubious front companies.
Documents with Times Now show that Rajya Sabha member Misha Bharti, eldest daughter of Lalu Prasad, and her spouse Shailesh Kumar acquired a farmhouse at Bijwasan, near IGI airport, where many rich and influential own properties, for a mere Rs 1.41 crore. The couple also acquired a farmhouse at Sainik Farms after an intriguing transaction with the owner.
As per Registrar of Companies records, Misha Bharti is listed as director of at least four private limited companies, along with Shailesh.
One of the companies, Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt Ltd., was incorporated in December 2002 by the couple and registered at Lalu's official bungalow at 25, Tuglak Road, New Delhi, which was allotted to RJD chief Lalu Prasad as a Rajya Sabha MP.
As per its balance sheet, the company's business activities stopped in 2006 and its plant and machinery were sold.
In 2008-09, Mishail Packers purchased a farmhouse at 26 Palam Farms in Bijwasan for Rs 1.41 crore. Funds were arranged through sale of 1,20,000 shares of Rs 10 each in Mishail Packers, at a premium of Rs 90, to V K Jain and S K Jain, the entry operators who were arrested in March this year as part of crackdown on black money.
The shares were purchased back within less than a year by Misha and her husband at Rs 1 or Rs 2 in 2009: a transaction which should raise suspicions of money laundering.
A Times Now team, which went to the Palam Farms area in Bijwasan, found that construction on the property has not taken place yet. A part of the farmland was being used for agriculture activity. People at the farm confirmed that the property beOne of the companies, Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt Ltd., was incorporated in December 2002 by the couple and registered at Lalu's official bungalow at 25, Tuglak Road, New Delhi, which was allotted to RJD chief Lalu Prasad as a Rajya Sabha MP. As per its balance sheet, the company's business activities stopped in 2006 and its plant and machinery were sold.
In 2008-09, Mishail Packers purchased a farmhouse at 26 Palam Farms in Bijwasan for Rs 1.41 crore. Funds were arranged through sale of 1,20,000 shares of Rs 10 each in Mishail Packers, at a premium of Rs 90, to V K Jain and S K Jain, the entry operators who were arrested in March this year as part of crackdown on black money.
The shares were purchased back within less than a year by Misha and her husband at Rs 1 or Rs 2 in 2009: a transaction which should raise suspicions of money laundering. A Times Now team, which went to the Palam Farms area in Bijwasan, found that construction on the property has not taken place yet. A part of the farmland was being used for agriculture activity. People at the farm confirmed that the property belonged to Mishail Packers.
The property, going by current commercial rates, should fetch anything between Rs 40-50 crore.
In an effort to investigate the intriguing transaction between Jain brothers and the daughter and son-in-law of RJD strong man, Times Now tried to track the duo. The team visited the registered office of one of the companies of Virendra (Jain). After making inquiries, the team was directed to another address where Jain owns a business.
But, going by the charges against them, the Jains could allegedly be using the businesses as a smokescreen. The real purpose of setting up of such dubious companies may have been to sell and buy shares to facilitate moneylaundering.
Misha and Shailesh appear to have used another front company, KHK Holdings , to 'buy' the 2.8 acre farmhouse at H27/1 Sainik Farms. The company was was originally owned by Vivek Nagpal, a known figure in Delhi's political and business circles, who, in 2014, transferred 10,000 shares to the couple at only Rs 1 lakh.
KHK Holdings, under Nagpal, had acquired the Sainik Farms property. It also raised a loan of Rs 23.76 crore in 2010 from India Bulls Housing Finance Ltd. After Nagpal mysteriously sold his company to Misa and her husband, the property remained with the company.
Security men deployed at the address confirmed that the house is now in possession of Misha who, along with her father, often comes visiting. The value of this property too is easily worth Rs 50 crore, if not more.
On being asked to react, RJD spokesman Manoj Jha mailed the following statement: "What is the illegality involved therein? We are being subjected to a typical 'supari journalism' whose brief is to denigrate and delegitimise important voices and images of opposition. If the fourth estate looks for conspiracy and quid pro quo in an otherwise natural transactions, it tells you that all is not well."
When contacted, Nagpal said he has many companies and he doesn't remember any transfers to Misha Bharti and would revert with more information.
Misha and her husband now have assets worth around Rs 100 crore, all acquired at throwaway prices through questionable share transactions. Why Jain and Nagpal got into these deals is a matter of deeper probe, but there is enough to suspect is that the influence of Lalu Prasad, an influential figure in the UPA regime, may have been a big factor in Misha and her husband turning multi-millionaires.
Fodder case
2018: Fodder case-3: Lalu sentenced to 5 years’ jail
Former CM Mishra Too Given 5 Yrs
The ghost of fodder scam returned to torment Lalu Prasad a third time on Thursday when a special CBI court sentenced him along with another former Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra and others to five years in jail in a case related to the embezzlement of Rs 37.62 crore of public money which was supposed to be spent on the upkeep of livestock.
The court which fined Lalu and Mishra Rs 10 lakh handed down similar prison term and penalties to former MPs Jagdish Sharma and R K Rana.
Jharkhand exchief secretary Sajal Chakrabarty, who also was found guilty, sentenced to four years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 2 lakh along with two former senior IAS officers Phool Chand Singh and Mahesh Prasad.
Lalu is currently serving a term of three and a half years at Birsa Munda Central Jail in a fodder scam related case related to embezzlement of money from the Deoghar treasury.
Special CBI judge S S Prasad said Lalu’s prison terms would run concurrently and the time already spent in jail in connection with this specific case would be deducted from his term in prison. Despite the fact that Lalu had already been convicted twice, the third conviction should hurt him. Three convictions from three different courts can undercut his claim that he was victim of a political frame -up.
Also, conviction of former chief minister Jagannath Mishra is a blow to the allegation of Lalu camp that the RJD strongman was being penalised because he belonged to a socially backward caste. Significantly, Mishra had been convicted along with Lalu when the court pronounced Lalu guilty the first time in a fodder scam-related case in 2013. He is accused in three other cases arising from the mega swindle of public money which went on for decades before being busted by alert officers — something which put a spanner in the works of the former Bihar CM when he was being seriously considered as a PM probable.
Unlike Lalu and Mishra and a few others, those sentenced to three years were allowed to apply for a bail bond by the court on two sureties of Rs 20,000 each.
Of the remaining five politicians convicted in the case, Jagannath Mishra, Jagdish Sharma and R K Rana have been charged under similar sections and sentenced to equal terms, while former BJP MLA who served as public accounts committee chairman, Dhruv Bhagat, and Vidya Sagar Nishad, who was Bihar’s animal husbandry minister, have been sentenced to shorter jail terms.
The court showed some leniency towards the women convicts. Madhu Mehta, Chanchala Sinha, Anita Prasad and Nirmala Prasad were sentenced to three years each and fined a cumulative Rs 80,000 each.
