Land-for-jobs scam: Tejashwi Yadav summoned by ED on January 5
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued fresh summons to Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday in the money laundering case related to the alleged land-for-jobs scam. According to PTI, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader has been asked to appear before the ED for questioning on January 5. His father and RJD founder, Lalu Prasad Yadav, too, was asked to depose on Wednesday (December 27) in the case at the ED's New Delhi headquarters.
Why does this story matter?
This development came after Deputy CM Yadav skipped the ED summons to him to appear before the central probe agency on Friday (December 22) for questioning. The ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are currently probing the alleged corruption case wherein RJD chief Lalu Prasad is accused of approving railway jobs in return for plots during his tenure as the railway minister between 2004 and 2009. His family members and aides are also being probed in the matter.
Nothing new: Yadav's response to summons
Reacting to the summons against him in the land-for-jobs case, the Bihar deputy CM on Thursday said it was "nothing new." "All these (probe) agencies...have summoned me so many times in the past, and I have duly appeared every time. But now it seems to have become routine," Yadav claimed. He also accused the central agencies of acting as per the directions of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
All you need to know about lands-for-jobs case
The alleged land-for-job scam reportedly transpired from 2004 to 2009, during the tenure of Lalu Prasad as the railway minister in the Congress-led coalition government at the Centre. The CBI claimed that irregular hirings were done in the Indian Railways, contravening established procedures and norms for recruitment. It also claimed that those who got the jobs as "substitutes" in the railways sold land to the family members of Lalu Prasad and his aides at "highly discounted rates."
ED recorded statements from several Yadav family members
Over the past few months, the ED has recorded the statements of the RJD supremo's wife and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and their daughters Misa Bharti, Ragini Yadav, and Chanda Yadav in the alleged scam case. Amid the ongoing probe, the Yadav family has denied all the allegations and accused the central government of misusing central probe agencies.
