The Supreme Court’s verdict reviving trial in all fodder scam cases against RJD leader Lalu Prasad may not have any immediate impact on the JD (U)-RJD coalition headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The two-decade old fodder scam relates to fraudulent withdrawal of around Rs 900 crore by Bihar’s Animal Husbandry Department from various districts when Lalu was the chief minister from 1990 to 1997.
Notwithstanding the BJP’s proddings, Nitish won’t abandon the alliance with Lalu following the latest legal setback, say JD(U) sources.
Deep impact
However, many JD(U) leaders do not rule out a deep impact on the “Grand Alliance” in the long term even as BJP leaders believe that this could be the beginning of a meltdown in the opposition camp.
Lalu has been in the forefront of shaping the big alliance of “secular” parties against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 2019 parliamentary polls. In the latest move to put up a common opposition candidate in the presidential elections, he has been in touch with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other leaders.
Nitish and Lalu had buried their hatchet to keep out the BJP after a bitter rivalry spanning more than 20 years.
Since then, Nitish has justified why he joined hands with Lalu despite his long opposition on several issues. For Nitish, one of the main reasons for the alliance was to save the state from the BJP’s “communal politics.”
Tight spot
What puts Nitish Kumar in a tight spot now is that Monday’s verdict comes after a series of controversies involving Lalu and his sons, Tej Pratap and Tejasvi, who are ministers in the Nitish government. Their ties with the chief minister have not been in best of terms.
Recently, Bihar BJP leader Sushil Modi had released documents to claim that a company owned by Lalu’s family was given the contract to supply soil to a zoo in Patna at inflated rates.
Lalu was also accused of giving important posts to RJD leaders, who helped his family members acquire land at throwaway prices. Two days ago, an audio clip was broadcast on a TV channel highlighting a purported phone conversation between Lalu and jailed mafia don Mohd Shahabuddin.
Published 08 May 2017, 20:07 IST