Lalu Yadav In Jail, Son Tejashwi's Bail Issue Keeps Party On Tenterhooks

Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav, will appear before a special court in Delhi

A day after Lalu Yadav's surrender in court after the expiry of his parole, his family is bracing for another trial. Today, his wife Rabri Devi and their son Tejashwi Yadav, will appear before a special court in Delhi to seek bail in a corruption case that is seen as a key reason behind the splitting of the Grand Alliance.

For the party, much rides on the outcome. With Lalu Yadav in jail in three corruption cases, Tejashwi Yadav, his son and political heir, had been leading the party. Now the leaders are worried that if he fails to get bail, it would ruin their chances in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

"See it entirely depends on the judge of the special court. As far as two women accused Rabari Devi and Sarla Gupta are concerned, they have a strong chance of getting bail.  But in case of Tejaswi we are keeping our fingers crossed," a party leader said.

The legal team of Tejashwi Yadav plans to argue that since the investigation in the case - which is document based -- is over and the entire family cooperated with the investigators, his presence outside the jail won't jeopardise any witness.

Coupled with this the agency never tried to take him in custody during the investigations in this case .

Nitish Kumar had ended the alliance in July 2017, a few weeks after the CBI filed the case, naming Tejashwi Yadav, who was the Deputy Chief Minster in his government.

But despite signals from Nitish Kumar's party that a minister, accused in a corruption case is not welcome in the cabinet, Lalu Yadav refused to get his son to step down, insisting that the case was the outcome of the BJP's "vendetta politics".

When Nitish Kumar asked him to give a public explanation, Tejashwi Yadav refused to do that too, insisting he would reply only before a court. A few days later, Nitish Kumar ended the Grand Alliance and partnered with the BJP to form a new government in  the state.

The chargesheet in the case alleges that Lalu Prasad Yadav, while working as a Minister of Railways in the UPA government during 2004 and 2009, extended undue favours to a firm in exchange for prime land in Patna.

The Kochaars of Sujata Hotels were given a contract for sub-leasing two railway hotels at Ranchi and Puri. The land was sold to a firm belonging to the relatives of a RJD lawmaker, Prem Chandra Gupta.
Later, the company was taken over by the family of Lalu Yadav.

In the chargesheet, the CBI said the whole process of award of the contract was rigged. The land registration in Patna also involved irregularities. Even though it was commercial plot, it was registered as agricultural land, robbing the state of stamp duty.