Deliberately Dragged Into the Mud: Lalu on Soil Scam Accusation

Tej Pratap reportedly awarded a 90-lakh contract to fill the earth at Patna Zoo floating a tender.

RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav (Photo: Reuters)

RJD leader Lalu Prasad’s family is at the centre of a fresh round of accusations of corruption, after his son and Bihar Environment and Forest Minister Tej Pratap has been accused of being a part of a “soil purchase scam”.

Tej Pratap reportedly awarded a 90-lakh contract to fill the earth in the Patna Zoo to a company, which will be taking soil from a mall site, where his siblings and his mother are shareholders.

But Lalu Prasad Yadav said his family’s name was being dragged deliberately into the mud over the issue.

Family’s name dragged deliberately. Zoo director sent notice to many.

Lalu Prasad Yadav, RJD Chief

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, on Tuesday, charged the Environment and Forest Minister Tej Pratap Yadav of RJD, with giving contract of Rs 90 lakh to a company for earth filling work in Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park or Patna zoo, without tender and demanded his ouster from the cabinet.

While Yadav threatened to file a defamation case against Modi, his father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad said his family was ready to face investigation by any agency.

All documents related to the alleged scam should be sealed as those papers might be tampered with by the accused, Modi said.

Since the RJD supremo is open to probe by any agency, the Chief Minister should set up an all-party committee to probe the alleged ‘soil purchase scam’ without any delay.

Sushil Kumar Modi, Senior BJP Leader

The zoo's officials have confirmed that they bought soil worth 44 lakhs, but claimed it was not from the mall site on the Yadavs' land. However, they admitted buying the soil without seeking bids or floating a tender.

Modi asked for testing of the soils from both the spots to ascertain whether it was the same or not.

Modi also alleged that RJD chief Prasad had a habit of brushing aside scams that took place during the RJD rule, including the infamous fodder scam, in which Prasad was convicted four years ago.