Sushil Kumar Modi: Lalu guru of Vadra

PATNA: A week before RJD’s ‘BJP bhagaao, desh bachaao’ rally at Gandhi Maidan, senior Bihar BJP functionary and deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi on Sunday called RJD chief Lalu Prasad the ‘guru’ of Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra so far as the alleged land acquisition skill is concerned.

“It will not be far-fetched to compare Lalu with Robert. In fact, Lalu comes out to be the ‘guru’ of Vadra,” Modi said, adding: “Vadra used to acquire land in the name of a company while Lalu has been more inventive about his land acquisition skills.”

Lalu and his son and former deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav have been busy mobilizing their constituents for the proposed rally in Patna on August 27 to expose the BJP and chief minister Nitish Kumar for “ditching the grand alliance” and forming government with the saffron party in the state.

Former national president of JD(U) and Rajya Sabha member Sharad Yadav, along with other party functionaries, has already revolted against Nitish’s decision to join hands with the BJP. The RJD has invited top functionaries of the 17-party opposition, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi from the Congress, to participate in the rally.

Making his intentions clear, Modi said his party’s expose on the plots of land acquired by Lalu and his family would continue up to the rally. “I would reveal the next instalment of the expose on land acquisition by Lalu just before the rally,” he said.

On Sunday, Modi described how Lalu acquired two plots of land at Saguna (Patna) measuring 6,726 square feet and belonging to former Bihar Public Service Commission (

BPSC

) chairman Ramashray Prasad Yadav in the late 1990s. Modi alleged the two plots were first transferred in the names of Mohammad Shamim and his wife Sofia Tabassum, both residents of Lalbagh at Patna, by Seema Yadav and Sanjay Yadav, who are the siblings of Ramashray Prasad Yadav. Later, Shamim was nominated to the state legislative council on the quota of the then governor in 1998.

Subsequently, on May 13, 2005, both Shamim and his wife Tabassum transferred the two plots of land to former CM Rabri Devi, wife of Lalu, through power of attorney. “Rabri was given the power of attorney of the two plots,” Modi alleged, adding that the agreement listed the powers that got vested in Rabri.

Modi said the agreement “did not give ownership of the two plots of land to Rabri”, but she listed in the papers submitted to the Election Commission, though mentioning that she had only the power of attorney for the land.

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