BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi continued to hurl property punches at Lalu Prasad and claimed to have identified plots of land purchased by A.K. Infosystems Pvt Ltd, a company now controlled by the RJD chief's family.
As per documents furnished by Modi, A.K. Infosystems was floated by beer brewery owner Om Prakash Katyal and family in 2006 and transferred to Lalu Prasad and his family in 2014. Modi has alleged that the RJD chief helped the Katyal family set up a beer factory in Bihta when his wife Rabri Devi was chief minister between 1997 and 2005. In return, the BJP leader has said, Lalu and family got A.K. Infosystems.
According to Modi, the property and assets purchased by the company includes a piece of land and building located in Salempur Dumra area of Patna with a two-storied house which was gifted to Lalu's sons Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav in July 2006 by Prabhunath Yadav, their maternal uncle.
The value of the house was shown as Rs 6.95 lakh and the land was valued at Rs 6.05 lakh when Prabhunath - one of Rabri Devi's brothers - gifted them to his nephews, said Modi. A.K. Infosystems purchased the land and the house about 45 months later - in April 2010 - for a total price of Rs 70 lakh.
"Both the house and land and the amount of Rs 70 lakh remained with Lalu Prasad," Modi said at a news conference on Tuesday, his fifth in connection with he says are "exposés" on Lalu Prasad's attempts to regularise benami property through a network of companies.
"So far the spokespersons of RJD have been unable to refute any of the charges I have made. Those who think they can overcome the storm by ducking their heads are mistaken. I will not let the pressure down," the BJP leader said.
Lalu and his party have scoffed at Modi's charges, saying all so-called "revelations" are there in the public domain.
Modi pointed out that A.K. Infosystems had carried out no other business other than purchasing land in Patna. Apart from the house and land it purchased, the company also bought land in Panapur and Chitkohra areas of Patna for a sum of Rs 39 lakh, Modi said.
The BJP leader said the initial promoters of A.K. Infosystems, Om Prakash Katyal and Amit Katyal, had loaned the company Rs 1.15 crore. "The company did nothing but purchase land. In 2014, the entire share of the company was transferred to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Prasad," Modi said, alleging that chief minister Nitish Kumar had remained silent on the issue.
Modi asked the Nitish government to impound the "benami properties" of Lalu Prasad and his family members and initiate legal proceedings against them under the Bihar Special Courts Act 2010.
"I have produced documents to substantiate my charges levelled against Lalu Prasad and his family and hence Nitish Kumar, who swears by Mahatma Gandhi's principles, should muster the courage and take action against his two ministers - Tej Pratap Yadav (health minister) and Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (deputy chief minister) - on the basis of documentary proof," he said.
The RJD remained tight-lipped over Modi's fresh charges. "Why does Sushil Kumar Modi not hold a press conference on several BJP leaders who have become astonishingly rich? One BJP leader who moved on cycle now owns two car showrooms and two petrol pumps," said a senior RJD leader who did not wish to be named.
However, Sushil Modi's supporters who had hoped that the series of "exposés" would help the BJP leader regain the centre-stage in party politics in Bihar are surprised that no other prominent leader - be it a Union minister or someone from the central leadership - had spoken on the issue.
Modi has launched the campaign against Lalu and his family single-handedly. The only political impact visible so far is that Janata Dal United leaders have remained tight-lipped over the issue.
