Patna: Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, who faced 60 questions in eight hours from Enforcement Directorate officials on Tuesday, faced the same predicament as his mother Rabri Devi, who faced 50 questions by the same agency in 2017. The intense grilling revived the ghost of the past for the Lalu family. Six years ago, Rabri Devi was left 'high and dry' after the exhaustive grilling by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the land-for-railway hotels case.
Misa Bharti alleged that the fall of mahagathbandhan changed political equations in Bihar and added that the shift of power brought miseries for Lalu Prasad, Tejashwi Yadav and Rabri Devi.
According to her, soon after Nitish Kumar ditched Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and joined NDA again, Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths started hounding the Lalu family. Lalu was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate and faced the interrogation for 10 hours. On Tuesday, Tejashwi Yadav was bombarded with 60 questions for more than eight hours.
According to sources, the questions asked to Tejashwi included most of the questions related to the property in Delhi and Patna and investments in the private company. During interrogation, Tejashwi pleaded ignorance. During the interrogation, Tejashwi was asked to have breakfast and lunch though he came only for tea and brought food from his home. The ED team also told Tejashwi to take a rest in between but he refused.
Yadav was asked about his current source of income. Questions on his monthly income, and his joining the board of a private company M/s AB Exports Private Limited as director when he was a minor were asked.
The sleuths also asked him about the company's modus operandi. The investigation team wanted to know how a company with an annual turnover of 4 crore could establish its office in a posh area like Friends Colony in Delhi. Yadav was confronted with questions like from whom was the bungalow purchased. Again, the sleuths also asked him who funded for buying of the bungalow which is priced at more than Rs 160 crore now.
Bharti, however, said she was ready to cooperate with the investigating agency. During a conversation with ETV Bharat, the RJD's Rajya Sabha MP," "We are ready to cooperate with the investigating agencies. We are innocent and have not done anything wrong. My father underwent a kidney transplant a year ago. Despite this, he is being interrogated for 10 hours, which is inhuman."
According to her, Lok Sabha elections are near, so the Enforcement Directorate has been engaged to target opposition leaders. The ED team has intensified its activity in Bihar and Jharkhand, she said. "We are not sad about Nitish Kumar's switching sides. We worry that his change of party has stalled the pace of development in Bihar," Bharti said.
Bharti also hit out at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre, saying that the actions by the probe agency against his father reflects that the central government is 'afraid' of him.
"He (Lalu) cannot eat himself, someone will have to feed him. We do not know whether he has eaten or not. No ED official is ready to speak. Since elections are near, the PM is scared and will do such things only. This government can (arrest) my father also, but what will they get by arresting a sick man," Misa said.
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