Patna: The battle for social justice will continue under the leadership of Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, RJD leader Jagdanand Singh said in Patna soon after Lalu Prasad's conviction in a fodder scam case in Ranchi.

At the party office, Jagdanand said the RJD will approach a higher court against the CBI verdict by which Lalu got convicted. "Our battle for social justice will continue under the leadership of Tejashwi," said the former minister, who is considered one of most trusted aides of Lalu.

There are few leaders in the RJD on whom Lalu trusts a lot. Apart from Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who is the national vice-president of the party, Jagdanand is given great respect in the RJD as he has not shifted his loyalties.

In the regime of Lalu and Rabri Devi, Jagdanand served the state in different capacities, like irrigation minister, forest and environment minister and mining department minister.

Jagdanand said: "As per the Constitution framed by the lawmakers, we have every right to approach the higher court and we will do the same in the case of our leader Lalu ji. We have been given training by the socialist leaders to register a protest keeping in mind aspects of the Constitution."

Jagdanand alleged that the fodder scam was a conspiracy by the party which lost the election (in 1990) as Lalu fought for the rights of the downtrodden.

"Those who lost the election knew that they cannot defeat Lalu ji who is close to the people. When they could not defeat Laluji through people's mandate they opted for a conspiracy. Till the time the supreme body of the judiciary does not take a final decision, justice is incomplete," Jagdanand said.

RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwari expressed disappointment over the judgment. "How many times will Lalu Prasad be sent to jail in the same case? He has already been sentenced for five years of imprisonment and he cannot even contest elections. I am wondering how Jagannath Mishra, who was once considered the symbol of corruption, was acquitted in the fodder scam case. After all, the fodder scam started under him," Tiwari, who is a petitioner in the case, said.

Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi welcomed the CBI court judgment and said Lalu will never learn a lesson. "He has been convicted in just two of the fodder scam cases and in remaining four cases also he cannot escape conviction," Modi said.