PATNA: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi today came down heavily on Lalu Prasad and his supporters for alleging that the RJD supremo has been targeted because he belonged to a backward case.
In a statement issued here, Sushil Modi said "a court of law does not pass judgements on the basis of caste and, also, Bihar has moved beyond caste politics".
"Prasad should brace for severe punishment by the court of law, further to his conviction in the case which was based upon facts and evidences", Sushil Modi said.
A Special CBI court in Ranchi is scheduled to pronounce the quantum of sentence of Prasad tomorrow.
Prasad was convicted by a special CBI court in Ranchi on December 23 for fraudulent withdrawal of money from the treasury in Deoghar district.
Earlier, in September, 2013, he was convicted for a similar offence in Chaibasa treasury. He was released on bail, granted by the Supreme Court, three months after his conviction.
The senior BJP leader, who was one of the petitioners on whose PIL the Patna High Court ordered a CBI inquiry into the fodder scam cases in 1996, called Prasad "a habitual offender who is beyond reform and went on to amass benami property worth nearly a thousand crores despite having been convicted once".
Prasad, who was the state's Chief Minister for seven years and was succeeded by his wife Rabri Devi who held the office for nearly eight years, was accused by Sushil Modi of "keeping Bihar in darkness during the 15 years of his rule".
Taking potshots at the RJD supremo, the Deputy CM said "Prasad should change his party symbol from lantern to an LED bulb. He had the misplaced belief that the people of Bihar will always remain content with the lantern".
Sushil Modi also said "even if Prasad were to come out of jail, it is not going to help his party. He was not in jail during the 2010 assembly polls when his party won only 24 seats in the 243-strong House".
"Had (Bihar CM) Nitish Kumar not been by Prasad's side in 2015, his party would not have reached the tally of 80 seats. The RJD supremo has, however, been oblivious to his dwindling support base and bragging about taking on the BJP nationally. He and his supporters would do better to save the party in Bihar", Sushil Modi added. PTI NAC RG .
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.