Paswan questions Nitish Kumar’s silence on Lalu

Patna, May 13 (IANS) Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Saturday questioned the silence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's alleged land deals worth Rs 1,000 crore and dared him to take action against Lalu.

Paswan, who is chief of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), an ally of the BJP-led NDA, told the media that Nitish Kumar should break his silence and prove his credibility by taking action against Lalu and his family members.

"Why is Nitish Kumar silent and not taking action against Lalu despite knowing everything?" Paswan said, adding that when crime is increasing in the state and law and order is only on paper, Nitish Kumar has failed to say anything on this issue.

This is the first time that after the BJP, its ally LJP has directly attacked Lalu and targeted Nitish Kumar for ignoring serious charges against Lalu and his family members.

Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party had questioned the silence of Nitish Kumar on the Supreme Court's order in a fodder scam case involving Lalu Prasad.

Interestingly, two other BJP allies in Bihar -- Rashtriya Lok Samta Party of Union minister Upender Kushwaha and Hindustani Awam Morcha of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi -- have so far not joined the BJP to target Lalu.

Senior BJP leaders like Ravi Shankar Prasad, Griraj Singh, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, have been repeatedly attacking Lalu and the silence of Nitish Kumar.

Prasad accused Lalu Prasad, his daughter and MP Misa Bharti and his two minister-sons Tej Pratap and Tejashwi of being involved in corrupt land deals worth over Rs 1,000 crore and asked the Centre to probe one such transaction in Delhi.

Prasad dared Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to take action against Lalu and his family. He urged the Election Commission to take action against Misa Bharti, as she did not disclose the details of these assets in her affidavit at the time of the Rajya Sabha election.