Lalu Prasad Yadav: Prisoner No. 3312

Diksha Dwivedi,

Correspondent (Asia — South)

 

PATNA — The controversial ordinance that shielded convicted legislators and kept them from being disqualified from office was withdrawn after a short cabinet meeting on October 2, 2013. The results of this decision were sparked by a sudden outburst from the Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, who termed this ordinance as ‘nonsense’ on September 27, 2013. The effects of this ‘unanimous’ cabinet decision can be seen already.

Rashtriya Janta Party’s (RJD) ex-Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and 44 others, including four IAS officers, six politicians and former Bihar Chief Minister, Jagannath Mishra, were convicted in the ‘fodder scam‘ by special CBI Court. Special CBI Judge PK Singh convicted the accused on September 30, 2013. In this 17-year-old scam,  Rs. 37.70 crore was withdrawn from Chaibasa (in Jharkhand) Treasury to pay for fodder for cattle in Bihar, which went to unknown companies. This is part of a bigger Rs. 950 crore animal husbandry department scam. The ‘fodder scam’ was brought into limelight back in 1996–1997. Lalu Prasad Yadav, then Chief Minister of Bihar, was prosecuted for the same by the Governor. He installed his wife, Rabri Devi, as Bihar’s Chief Minister as his name was mentioned in the CBI investigations and thereby continued his politics in Bihar.

Such corruption cases against Yavad and Rabri Devi continued until 2006, when, finally, they got a clean sheet in a disproportionate assets case. During 2000-2012, various key witnesses and accused members passed away but nothing came of that. Similarly, in the ‘fodder scam’, a total of 56 were accused but during the trial seven died, two turned approvers, one admitted to the crime and one was discharged.

Finally, after all these years of dirty games of corruption, former Chief Minister of Bihar and RJD Chief, Lalu Prasad Yadav, has been sentenced for a five-year jail term.  Additionally, former Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra and JD(U) MP Jadish Sharma, who were amongst the high-profile convicts in the scam, have each been sentenced to four years in prison. They are all lodged at the Birsa Munda Central Jail, Ranchi along with the other convicts. This jail term means that Yadav loses his Lok Sabha seat in Parliament, as a result of the withdrawn immunity ordinance by the government. He is ineligible for contesting elections for the next 11 years and has also been fined for Rs. 25 lakh, the disobedience of which will increase his term of sentence by six months.

Yadav, 66, and prisoner number 3312, had pleaded for leniency in front of the judge after his conviction, basing this appeal upon his years of power as Bihar’s Chief Minister and the Union Railway Minister. He asked the judge to consider lessening his punishment because of these factors. Ultimately, Yadav wants to repeat history by getting his wife and his 23-year-old son, Tejashwi, to step into his shoes and take charge of RJD for now. Although it not yet decided who will take charge of the party, the Yadav family may be here to stay and to continue their politics.

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