PATNA: The Bihar assembly witnessed noisy scenes over the recent Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s raids on the residential premises of deputy chief minister Tejashwi and others as RJD demanded the enactment of a law to stop central agencies from conducting raids without prior permission from the state government.
As the House was re-assembled after Holi vacation and ED raids on the premises of Tejashwi's residence in New Delhi, his three sisters and associates of RJD chief Lalu Prasad in connection with money laundering case related to the alleged land-for-jobs scam, RJD MLA Bhai Birendra said that legal provisions should be made, making it mandatory for ED and CBI to take prior permission from the state government before taking any action in the state. He said that such provisions had been made in West Bengal and other states and these should be made in Bihar too.
CBI had also recently questioned former chief minister Rabri Devi in the state capital and Lalu Prasad in New Delhi in connection with the land-for-jobs scam.
It is alleged that those wishing to secure group ‘D’ posts in the railway gifted or sold land parcels at cheap rates to the Lalu family when the RJD chief was the railway minister in the former UPA-I government from 2004 to 2009.
Addressing the speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary, RJD MLA Bhai Birendra said that the Centre was misusing the central agencies like ED and CBI. He also appealed to the chief minister Nitish Kumar who was present in the house to enact a law to make it mandatory for the central agencies to take prior permission from the state government before taking any action in the state.
The speaker, however, asked the RJD MLA to resume his seat and let the house conduct its normal proceedings.
MLAs belonging to Congress and left parties also registered their protest in the House against the questioning of Lalu and his associates in the case. MLAs from CPI (ML) and other left parties carrying placards demanded a check on the ED raids. They also alleged that the raids conducted on the premises of
Lalu and his family members were politically motivated.
Congress legislative party leader Ajit Sharma alleged that the Centre was misusing ED and CBI as it was perturbed over the grand alliance`s 'edge' on Bihar`s all 40 Lok Sabha seats. Attempts are being made by the Centre to harass the state`s opposition parties which are getting stronger all the time, he added.
On the other hand, BJP MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachol said Tejashwi should resign from the post for the sake of an "impartial" probe in a money laundering case related to the land-for-jobs scam. He contended that Tejashwi could influence the investigation into the case if he continued in his post.
Meanwhile, Tejashwi returned from New Delhi on Monday and met with Nitish who was sitting in his official chamber of the assembly. He apprised the CM of details of ED raids conducted at his residence and also at the residences of his sisters.
Tejashwi later tweeted, "We are not 'fake entire political science people but socialist people of real public science. We have political land (strength), courage and character to fight against BJP leaders’ falsehoods, rumours and fake political cases. Listen Sanghis, we have people's power if you have money power
and guile."