PATNA: An FIR has been registered against Union minister Giriraj Singh and 32 other people in a case pertaining to alleged efforts to grab a Dalit man’s land in Bihar, prompting the Opposition Congress and RJD to demand his ouster from the central cabinet.
Following an order of the Patna district and sessions court, police in Danapur near Patna registered the FIR on Wednesday with charges that the senior BJP leader and the other accused conspired to illegally change ownership of a 60 decimal plot of land by using forged documents. All the accused were also booked under provisions of the SC/ST Act.
The plot of land, according to complainant Ram Narayan Prasad, was illegally occupied by the accused without his consent and that police took no action on his complaints last year. Prasad, a retired deputy collector of land reforms (DCLR) and resident of Aasdiha village under Danapur police station, said he is the legal owner of the plot of land, which was gifted to him by his mother.
“All the accused have been booked under Sections 419, 420, 423, 467, 468, 469, 471 and 120 (B) of IPC and some Sections of the SC/ST Act. The charges are being probed,” said SP (city-west) Ravindra Kumar. There were no direct charges against the Union minister in the complaint, he added.
Bihar’s Opposition leader Tejaswi Yadav hit out at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his silence on the matter and demanded Giriraj Singh’s ouster from the Union cabinet. State Congress president Kaukab Quadri also made the same demand.
“Both Nitish Kumar, who makes such a show of probity, and Sushil Kumar Modi, who has been a self-appointed master of exposes, are silent on this grabbing of a Dalit’s land by Giriraj Singh. The minister must resign immediately or else be removed from the central cabinet,” said Yadav.
Yadav also alleged that Singh, a BJP MP from Nawada, had suppressed a case pertaining to his possession of cash to the tune of Rs 2 crore at his home a few years ago.
“Giriraj Singh is misusing his position of power. He is also following his master. Everyone saw how the PM avoided questions about corruption in the Rafale deal while speaking in parliament,” said Quadri.
However, Singh, who is the Union minister (independent charge) for micro, small and medium enterprises, denied the charges and hit out at Yadav. “I learned about this FIR from Tejaswi’s tweets. I have asked him not to indulge in childish acts. He must look at his father’s conviction and the falling support base of his party. If he does not change his ways, I will have to think of my next step,” he said.