Senior Bihar BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi continued to attack Lalu Prasad, alleging on Tuesday that the RJD chief's family was involved in a ploy to get prime land transferred in their names in lieu of favours.
Lalu Prasad's family, he said, had become owners of prime land in Patna worth crores of rupees earlier owned by AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd.
Modi, who presented a set of documents to support his charges, said the company was incorporated on September 28, 2006, by Amit Katyal and Rajesh Katyal who had set up a liquor factory called Iceberg Industries Pvt Ltd at Bihta in Patna district in 2003-2004 when Lalu's wife Rabri Devi was chief minister.
"Lalu Prasad got cent per cent shares of the company (AK Infosystems) transferred in the names of his wife and his son Tejashwi while his two daughters Chanda Yadav and Ragini Lalu were made the directors of the firm in 2014... Katyals handed over AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd, which owns land at prime locations in Patna, worth crores to Lalu's family for helping them (Katyals) in setting up a liquor factory at Bihta," Sushil Modi claimed.
Neither Lalu nor Rabri commented on the charge. The Katyal brothers couldn't be reached for comment.
Reacting to the charge on Tuesday, Tejashwi stressed that what Modi has been saying for the past one week was available on the website of the ministry of corporate affairs.
"Modi has not been saying anything new. It is what we have already declared," Tejashwi said.
The deputy chief minister said that instead of holding news conferences at regular intervals, Modi should say all things at one go so they can come prepared with the answers.
Lalu had inaugurated the beer factory of Iceberg Industries in 2004. AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd was set up on September 28, 2006 - when the JDU-BJP government was in power with Modi as deputy chief minister - with an authorised capital of Rs 10 lakh.
Iceberg Industries closed down following raids over tax evasion charges. In 2008, the beer factory was taken over by Lord Karan Bilimoria who began production of the Cobra brand of beer. The state government has refused to renew the licence of alcohol producing industries from this year.
Modi has accused Lalu of regularising benaami property - his first salvo was over an under-construction mall at Saguna Mor, the land for which the BJP leader alleges was given to the RJD chief's family as a favour in return for handing over railway hotels in Puri and Ranchi to a hotelier when Lalu was UPA railway minister between 2004 and 2009.
Modi taunted on Tuesday that Lalu had defended his owning the mall saying that a " gareeb ka beta (poor man's son)" had the right to do business.
"Taking cash or kind from a person in lieu of benefits comes under the Prevention of Corruption Act. In the case of the mall, he came with Prem Gupta (whose family owned the Saguna Mor land earlier) to explain his stand. In this case he should bring Amit Katyal to explain his stand. There are no different laws for a gareeb ka beta," Modi said.
Though Lalu did not react to Modi's barb, Tejashwi alleged that the BJP leader belonged to the same group which had defamed Gandhi. "Now he wants to defame the persons who follow Gandhi's path. I request Sushil Modi not to follow the path of Godse (Gandhi's killer)," he said.
