New Delhi:

The Rouse Avenue court on Saturday reserved an order on summoning former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and others in land for a job money laundering case under PMLA. The court is to pronounce the order on August 24.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recently filed a supplementary charge sheet.

Special judge Vishal Gogne after considering the supplementary charge sheet and submissions of ED’s counsel reserved the order on summoning Lalu Prasad Yadav, his son Tejashwi Yadav, and nine other charge-sheeted accused.

The ED on August 6, filed an Ist supplementary charge sheet against Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, and other accused.

This supplementary charge sheet has the names of Lallan Chaudhary, Hazari Rai, Dharmender Kumar, Akhileshwar Singh, Ravinder Kumar, Late Lal Babu Rai, Sonmatia Devi, Late Kishun Dev Rai and Sanjay Rai.

It also has 96 relied-upon documents.

On July 6, the Rouse Avenue court granted time and directed that ED shall file an additional/ concluding charge sheet by the next date of hearing.

The joint director of Enforcement Director had also appeared under the direction of the court. He apprised the court about the status of the investigation and steps taken by the agency.

Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, her daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav along with other accused had already been charge-sheeted by the ED in this case.

ED’s SPP Manish Jain along with Snehal Sharda appeared for ED before the court.

The special public prosecutor (SPP) clarified that it is a supplementary charge sheet based on the evidence and material the agency has till now.

Earlier, the court had directed the ED to expedite the investigation, it had directed that ED shall file an additional/concluding charge sheet by the next date.

In April, the court had directed the ED to finalise the conclusion of the pending investigation in the Land for Job money laundering case within two weeks.

In this case, Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav have been charge-sheeted along with Amit Katyal and Hridyanand Chaudhary. All accused except Amit Katyal appeared through video conferencing.

On February 28, the court granted regular bail to Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti, Hema Yadav, and Hridyanand Chaudhary.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday recalled what they went through during the dark days of Emergency and said that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi put many of the leaders behind bars, but she never abused them.

In a post shared on X, the RJD chief shared an article “The Sangh Silence in 1975” written by him and journalist Nalin Verma. In the article, they attacked the BJP-led central government and said that although 1975 is a stain on the country’s democracy, let’s not forget who doesn’t respect the Opposition in 2024.

“I was the convener of the steering committee that Jayaprakash Narayan–had constituted to carry forward the movement against the excesses of Emergency imposed by the then PM Indira Gandhi. I was in jail under the Maintenance of Security Act (MISA) for over 15 months. My colleagues and I did not know many of the BJP ministers speaking about the Emergency today. We hadn’t heard of Modi, J P Nadda, and some of the PM’s other ministerial colleagues who today lecture us on the value of freedom,” he posted on X.

“Indira Gandhi put many of us behind bars, but she never abused us. Neither she nor her ministers called us “anti-national” or “unpatriotic”. She never enabled vandals to defile the memory of Babasaheb Ambedkar–the architect of our Constitution. 1975 is a stain on our democracy but let’s not forget who doesn’t respect the Opposition in 2024,” the RJD leader added.

On June 25, 1975, Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, imposed a 21-month state of emergency. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, which is considered one of the most controversial periods in India’s political history.

Earlier on Thursday, President Droupadi Murmu addressed the joint sitting of the Parliament and criticised the imposition of ‘Emergency’.

“Emergency was the biggest and darkest chapter of the direct attack on the Constitution. The entire country plunged into chaos during the Emergency, but the nation was victorious against such unconstitutional powers”, she said.

The remarks of the President have triggered reactions from the leaders of the INDIA bloc.

Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attempting to gain cheap applause by making the President deliver a speech filled with lies.

“Modi Ji is trying to gain cheap applause by making the Honorable President speak lies, which the people of India have already rejected in the 2024 elections,” Kharge wrote on his official ‘X’ account.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Patna:

RJD president Lalu Prasad’s daughter Rohini Acharya has been named in one of the FIRs registered in connection with “irregularities” during polling in Bihar’s Saran Lok Sabha constituency and post-poll clashes leading to the death of one person there earlier this week., officials said on Thursday.

Ms Acharya was the Mahagathbandhan candidate in Saran against BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

The state government extended the suspension on internet services in the district by two more days till May 25, while the process to attach properties of the accused was initiated, officials said.

One person was killed and two others were injured in post-poll violence at Bada Telpa area in Saran on Tuesday morning.

The police registered a total of four FIRs to probe into the alleged irregularities on May 20, the day of polling, and also the violence on Tuesday. Two persons have been so far arrested in this connection.

The police registered an FIR naming Ms Acharya under various sections of the Representation of People Act, 1951, based on a complaint filed by Manoj Kumar, a representative of the BJP’s Lok Sabha nominee from Saran.

In his complaint, Mr Kumar alleged “Rohni Acharya, along with her seven supporters and 50 unidentified people indulged in illegal/irregular practices in polling booth number 318 and 319 in Chapra assembly seat on May 20,” said the statement.

The complaint has been converted into an FIR, an official said.

The police also constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to nab the accused.

“The process to attach properties of absconding persons, who have failed to appear before the police, has also been initiated by the authorities concerned,” the Saran Police said in a statement on Thursday.

Saran District Magistrate Aman Samir said, “The situation in Saran is completely under control. Security personnel are keeping a strict vigil in the Bada Telpa area near Bhikhari Thakur Chowk following Tuesday’s incident.” As a precautionary measure, the government has extended the ban on internet services in the district by two more days till May 25, he said.

“The process to attach properties of absconding persons, who have failed to appear before the police, has been initiated,” Saran district SP Gaurav Mangla told PTI.

He, however, refused to reveal the exact number of persons whose properties are being attached.

Meanwhile, senior RJD leaders on Wednesday met family members of Chandan Rai, who was shot dead in the post-poll violence, and handed them over a cheque of Rs 10 lakh.

The RJD leaders also gave a cheque of Rs 2 lakh each to the family members of the two injured persons. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Patna:

Launching a scathing attack on Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said an INDIA ally is talking about providing “full reservation” to Muslims and depriving people of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the OBC community.

The Prime Minister, who was addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar, referred to Mr Prasad as a leader “who ate fodder meant for animals” — a swipe at the RJD leader’s conviction in a fodder scam case. “The Congress is silent, but one of its allies confirmed the intentions of the INDI alliance today. One of their leaders, who was jailed in fodder scam (case) and was punished by the court. See his shamelessness. He is out on bail on health grounds. In your village, if someone does jail time, people stay away. The Congress has stooped so low that it is dancing with such people,” he said.

“He (Prasad) is saying Muslims should get reservation, and not just reservation, he says Muslims should get full reservation. What does this mean? This means they want to snatch away reservation from SC, ST and OBC communities and give it to Muslims,” he added.

The Prime Minister’s remarks are a part of the BJP’s big charge at the Congress, accusing the main Opposition party of planning to snatch reservation benefits from backward communities and give them to the Muslims. The Congress has denied any such plan and accused the ruling party of trying to create distraction in the election season.

Adding to the row, Mr Prasad yesterday said he was in favour of extending reservation benefits to Muslims. He also alleged that the BJP wants to do away with reservations. “The BJP is against the provision of reservations made in the Constitution. Hence, it wants to do away with both,” he said yesterday.

On the BJP’s charge that if voted to power, the Congress, RJD and other allies would “steal” reservations meant for OBCs and divert them to Muslims, the ailing leader said, “Muslims should get reservation, pura.”

The BJP responded that Mr Prasad’s statement was “very serious”. “Lalu Prasad Yadav said that full reservation should be provided to Muslims. This word, ‘pura ka pura’ (full) used by him in his statement is very serious. This makes it clear that they (INDIA) want to provide reservation to Muslims from the share of SCs, STs and OBCs,” BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told the media.

Amid the BJP’s charge, Mr Prasad issued a fresh statement today, stressing that the basis of reservation is not religion but social backwardness. “The Prime Minister does not understand this. We implemented the Mandal Commission recommendations. Has Narendra Modi ever read them? Mandal Commission recommendations provide reservation to more than 3,500 backward castes, including may from other religions.”

Referring to the BJP, he said, “They are not a bigger and truer OBC than me, right? They do not understand the poor, the backward and Dalits more than me. They only make them fight.” The RJD patriarch alleged a long-time conspiracy by RSS and the BJP to finish reservation and the Constitution. “In 2000, the NDA government had even set up a Constitution review commission. They do not follow the Constitution. If they did, they would not use divisive language to spread hate,” he said.