Political temperature soared in Bihar on Friday when the CBI raided several premises of RJD president Lalu Prasad, in Delhi and in Bihar, to investigate a case relating to alleged irregularities that took place during the ailing septuagenarian's tenure as railway minister more than a decade ago.
Leaders and workers of the party reacted with predictable outrage, squatting on the street in front of the residence of the RJD supremo's wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi, many of them stripping down to the waist in a show of anger against political intimidation.
The BJP, which rules the Centre and shares power in the state, rejected the opposition party's charge and asserted that the Central Bureau of Investigation was working in accordance with the mandate it enjoyed as an independent agency.
Hundreds of people had gathered, by noon, in front of the 10, Circular Road bungalow of Rabri Devi, a stone's throw from the official residence of the chief minister.
The premises, which keep teeming with visitors on a normal day, had been locked from inside by the raiding team which came in three cars.
I have come running from my home in Hajipur, 30 kms from here. You can see me in my nightclothes. I did not even brush my teeth. It is a blatant vendetta, former MLA Shiv Chandra Ram alleged.
He was livid that the elderly ex-CM was being troubled while no male member of her family was beside her. Prasad, who is suffering from a number of serious ailments, is in Delhi under strict medical supervision. Her son Tejashwi, the party's heir apparent, is away in London to attend a couple of symposiums.
Former MLA and party spokesman Shakti Yadav alleged the BJP is miffed over Tejashwi Yadav's growing popularity. It has been wary of our leader's motto of A to Z, underscoring that the RJD belongs to all caste groups, which had caused the saffron party to lose Boachahan assembly by-election recently .
Rabri Devi's elder brother Prabhunath Yadav, who is not a frequent visitor to his sister's place, was also seen outside 10, Circular Road.
One does not think of heat and weather conditions at such times. I learnt that raids are being conducted here and also in Gopalganj, our native district. Yes, it is a politically motivated action, without a shred of doubt, he alleged.
However, BJP leader and state minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain dismissed the allegations by RJD rank and file, asserting that the CBI was an independent investigating agency and deplored attempts to impute political motives.
Hussain was also asked about the contention of senior RJD leaders, like its national vice president Shivanand Tiwary, that the CBI may have been asked to crack the whip on Prasad to scare away Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who had of late been, apparently, cosying up to Tejashwi.
When did the RJD and Nitish Kumar get close? These are all just rumours. Our government, headed by him, will be completing its term till 2025, asserted Hussain who, incidentally, was one of the attendees at the Iftar party hosted by Tejashwi during Ramadan where the chief minister's appearance had raised many eyebrows.
Former LJP president Chirag Paswan, who has been struggling to find his feet since the demise of his father Ram Vilas Paswan, an old associate of Lalu Prasad, seemed to be in no mood to get embroiled in a controversy.
The CBI has its own way of functioning. I do not want to raise a question on the timing of the fresh case, which has been filed 13 years after Prasad ceased to be a railway minister. I wish to add, though, that there is no need to be scared. If they are not in the wrong, they will suffer no harm, said Paswan.
State minister Ashok Choudhary, one of the topmost leaders of the JD(U) controlled by the chief minister, seemed miffed over Shivanand Tiwary's suggestion that the CBI action could dissuade Nitish Kumar from taking up a state-specific caste census.
This is an attempt by the RJD to monopolise the caste census. They are forgetting that our leader has been in favour of a caste census from the very beginning, Choudhary said.
