RJD leaders, including Tejaswi Yadav, guilty of contempt of court
What's the story
It seems RJD's troubles won't be ending anytime soon. After supremo Lalu Yadav's conviction in the fodder scam, some RJD leaders were found guilty of contempt of court.
This includes Lalu's son and leader of opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejaswi Yadav, RJD's vice-president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and senior leader Shivanand Tiwari. Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari was also part of this dubious list.
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Reason
Why were they guilty of contempt?
Apparently, all four were issued court notices as their comments to the verdict were contemptuous. The court has asked them to appear before it on January 23.
Raghuvansh had no idea that he was served a notice. After the verdict, he had remarked, "Bail to Jagannath and jail to Lalu Prasad... what is this game?" Lalu's predecessor, Jagannath Mishra was acquitted in the case.
Sentence
Meanwhile, Lalu's quantum of sentence pronouncement is deferred till Thursday
Special judge Shivpal Singh was set to pronounce the quantum of Lalu's sentence today. However, this has been deferred till Thursday, for condoling the death of two lawyers who passed away recently.
Party members have been thronging Ranchi's Birsa Munda Central jail, where Lalu is currently lodged. They have their fingers crossed for a minimum sentence for their "mass leader" Lalu.
Implication
But, what does Lalu's conviction mean for RJD?
RJD, founded by Lalu, relies heavily on his leadership and mass appeal. The party's electoral fortunes are linked with his corruption cases. Lalu's family is also embroiled in a scam related to irregularities in awarding tenders during his stint as railway minister.
If Lalu gets a jail-term of over three years, "novices" Tejaswi and Tej Pratap will have to be ready to steer RJD.