Given that the RJD leader has obtained bail in five fodder scam cases, nothing less than a new case could serve the party's purpose.

RJD Chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. Credit: PTI file photo

Patna: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday, May 20, raided 17 places related to former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav after registering a corruption case.

It accused him of taking land from aspirants in return for jobs when he served as Union railway minister under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

Lalu has only recently obtained bail in the last of the five cases related to the fodder scam, in which he served half of the sentence awarded to him. He can be sent to jail only if fresh cases are lodged against him.

Although nothing has been said officially, it is being reported by media houses – apparently based on information fed by authorities – that the raids are based on the claims that Lalu offered jobs to his acquaintances, friends and relatives in lieu of cash or land. Lalu was the railway minister from 2004 to 2009, under the first United Progressive Alliance government.

Also read: CBI Files Fresh Corruption Case Against Lalu Prasad, Searches Underway

Lalu became the minister for Railways in 2004 when it went bankrupt.

According to the figures documented in the book Bankruptcy to Billions: How the Indian Railways Transformed authored by Shagun Mehrotra, an Oxford researcher, and Sudhir Kumar, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who served the Railways during Lalu’s time, the cash balance of the railways had dipped to Rs 259 crore and the operating ratio hovered around 98%. Simply put, the Railways was bleeding beyond repair.

The expert committee of the railway board then recommended to the new railway minister, Lalu, to step up privatisation, increase the train fare and downsize the staff. Lalu didn’t accept any of those recommendations.

Instead, he regularised the services of gang men, introduced a slew of welfare schemes for coolies, ensured maximum recruitment during his tenure, and reduced the general class fare by Re 1 in every railway budget he presented from 2004 to 2008. He also introduced the culture of serving tea in a kulhar (an earthen vessel) and came up with many populist measures, including the introduction of garib raths that facilitated low-cost travel in air-conditioned trains.

When Lalu left the ministry in 2009, the Indian Railways had a surplus of Rs 20,000 crore. Lalu was invited to speak at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and the Oxford University.

Also read: 44 Years in Politics, Yet Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Relevance in Bihar Remains Undiminished

The railways today have seen fares go up exorbitantly. There is also virtual suspension of all kinds of recruitment while the government is on a spree to sell its property.

 Why is the BJP after Lalu?

Be it by coincidence or by design, Narendra Modi’s rise to power corresponds with the decline in Lalu’s political fortune.

Lalu was for the first time convicted in the fodder scam case in 2013, landing in Birsa Munda jail in Ranchi. He stayed behind bars during the 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaigns. In the absence of a top leader like Lalu, many RJD workers believe that Modi got a free run in Bihar, resulting in BJP gaining handsomely in the state.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Sharad Yadav, Rabri Devi and his cabinet ministers during the swearing-in ceremony at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Friday. Photo: PTI.

In 2015, Lalu obtained bail in the case ahead of the assembly elections that year. He played a crucial role in stitching together the mahagathbandhan or ‘grand coalition’ with Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and the Congress.

In campaigns, he took on Modi’s speeches with verve, responding to Modi’s barbs against the opposition. The grand coalition trounced the BJP – the party that swept Bihar in the 2014 general election was reduced to 54 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar assembly.

From 2015 onwards, CBI has doggedly pursued cases against Lalu. He was convicted in four more cases, and the CBI has time and again opposed his bail pleas at the high court and Supreme Court. He could secure bail only after having served half of this jail term.

Ajoy Mishra ‘Teni’ of the BJP – in the eye of a storm since his son was connected to a vehicle that rammed into protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri – has enjoyed leniency from the same investigating agency.

Political observers in the state believe that Thursday raids are part of the BJP’s well-thought-out design to send Lalu to jail ahead of the 2024 general election through fresh cases.

Also read: Why Nitish Kumar’s Recent Actions Are Causing Speculation in Bihar

Speaking to The Wire, RJD spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said, “Lalu Prasad’s and RJD’s campaign for the caste census has drawn a response from chief minister Nitish Kumar and many other parties. Our leader’s (Lalu’s) power to unite the like-minded parties has unnerved the BJP which is using the CBI to strike fear among its opponents. It will not work…neither the RJD, nor Laluji nor Tejaswhi Yadav will be cowed down.”

On the other hand, Nitish Kumar, who is heading the alliance government in the state with the BJP, has lately shown that there is a convergence between him and Lalu’s son and RJD leader, Tejashwi Yadav, at least on issues such as census and the uniform civil code – while expressing his differences with the BJP. Nitish recently attended an iftar party hosted by the RJD.

There are signs of emerging bonhomie between RJD and JD(U). The raids, perhaps, are a message from the BJP to both the parties, particularly to Nitish and Tejashwi, of the consequences they may have to face if they continue to get closer in the run-up to the 2024 general election.

Nalin Verma is a senior journalist, author and professor of journalism and mass communication at Invertis University, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.