BJP afraid of Lalu: Tejashwi

Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India] March 19 (ANI): Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is afraid of Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Talking to reporters here, Tejashwi also said his family has been slapped with false cases as it opposed the BJP.

His father, Lalu Prasad, is convicted in the fodder scam cases and is currently lodged in a Ranchi jail.

"Had Lalu ji compromised with BJP, he would have got the tag of Raja Harishchandra. Just because we raise our voice against the BJP, they've put false cases on us," Tejashwi said.

According to Indian history, Raja Harishchandra was known for speaking truth.

The RJD leader also said that the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) don't want that Lalu should come out of the jail.

"People of BJP and NDA fear that if Lalu ji comes out of jail then they will lose 125 seats in the 2019 general elections," Tejashwi said.

On January 24, a Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here handed over five-year jail term to Lalu in a fodder scam case. The court found him guilty in the embezzlement of Rs 33.67 crore from Chaibasa district treasury during 1992-93.

On December 23 last year, the RJD supremo was sentenced to 3.5 years jail term in another fodder scam case. It pertained to the fraudulent withdrawal of funds from Deoghar treasury.

The Chaibasa Treasury case is the third case in the fodder scam in which Lalu Prasad has been found guilty.

Since Lalu was sentenced to jail in Deoghar treasury case, the RJD has been alleging of political vendetta.

However, the RJD is upbeat after the announcement of the results of the recently held bypolls in Bihar.

Both BJP and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have won a seat each. While RJD retained the Jehanabad assembly seat, BJP was able to hold on to the Bhabua assembly seat.

The RJD candidate Sarfaraz Alam has won the Araria Lok Sabha seat. Both, Araria Lok Sabha seat and Jehanabad Assembly seat were held by RJD. (ANI)