Bihar: CBI raids RJD leaders in land-for-jobs scam

Ahead of the Bihar floor test on Wednesday, the Central Investigation Agency (CBI) raided the premises of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders in Bihar in connection with the land for job scam. The CBI is raiding the residence of RJD Rajya Sabha MP Ashfaque Karim, MP Faiyaz Ahmed, and former MLC Subodh Roy.

The CBI team reached the residence of RJD leaders on 24 August morning. Sunil Singh and his wife have described the raid as an act of retaliation.

Meanwhile, Manoj Jha, RJD MP questioned the timing of the raids and said, “It is being done intentionally. There is no meaning to it. They are doing it thinking that out of fear, MLAs will come in their favor,” said Singh, RJD MLC and Chairman of Bihar state co-operative marketing union ltd. (BISCOMAUN) whose house was raided today.”

Jha further stated, “Useless to say that it is a raid by ED or IT or CBI, it is a raid by Bharatiya Janata Party. They work under BJP now, and their offices run with BJP script. Today is Floor Test (in Bihar Assembly) & what’s happening here? It has become predictable.”

On Wednesday (24 August) newly formed Bihar government faces a trust vote on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha.

“Our Deputy CM had said in the meeting yesterday that they will reach this level now. It didn’t take even 24 hours. They stooped even lower. What is this anger? That a Government did not run according to your wishes? That it changed the alliance for public welfare?”, Jha said.

However, JDU MLC Neeraj Kumar alleged that the BJP-led government is misusing the central agencies.

“The central government has used CBI and ED as government instruments. Today, the state government is about to prove its majority and you (BJP) sent CBI and ED for ‘Shakti Parikshan’. Bihar is the land of democracy and does not matter if you send a dozen agencies, there is no one to create pressure on Mahagathbandhan’s MLAs,” Kumar said.

Earlier in May this year, an FIR had been filed by the CBI against Lalu Yadav, his wife, and daughters among several others in the “land for railway job” case. In July CBI arrested Bhola Yadav who was Officer on Special Duty (OSD) when Lalu Prasad Yadav was railway minister.