‘Democracy is being attacked… ’ says Lalu Yadav amid fresh chargesheet in land-for-jobs scam

RJD leader Lalu Yadav accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of undermining democracy, following the dramatic Maharashtra political developments where NCP leaders joined the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance.

"Democracy is being attacked. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is breaking and robbing everything. Recently you saw, a prominent leader from Maharashtra had come to Bihar. We had called them to gather support to defeat PM Modi," Lalu Yadav said, as quoted by ANI.

Earlier he asserted that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Sharad Pawar is a stalwart and has inordinate power. “Sharad Pawar 'ek haisiyat hein aur takat hein' (stalwart and has inordinate power) and PM Modi tried to shake him, but nothing will happen, everything will fail.”

NCP leader Ajit Pawar, along with eight other party legislators, took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister. This move occurred amidst efforts led by Sharad Pawar to unite opposition parties against the BJP in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The NCP has 53 MLAs and nine MLCs, with nine MLAs, including Ajit Pawar, joining the Shinde government.

CBI files fresh charge sheet against Lalu Yadav, Rabri in land-for-jobs scam

The CBI on Monday filed a charge sheet against Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, his father and former railway minister Lalu Prasad, and mother and former chief minister Rabri Devi in connection with the land-for-jobs scam, officials said.

Though this is the second charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case before a special court here, it is the first time that Tejashwi Yadav has been named as an accused.

Besides the three members of the Yadav family, the federal agency has named 14 individuals and entities in the charge sheet.

The accused have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy, cheating and others in addition to provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

This comes days after over a dozen opposition parties, including Lalu Prasad's RJD, resolved to take on the BJP unitedly in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections at a crucial meeting in Patna on June 23.