- At the old age of 73, Lalu Yadav has been sentenced to serve 5 years in jail
- Lalu Yadav is already at the abyss of his political life as he is ineligible for contesting elections
- The jail term means that Lalu will deserve further decline in his already low credibility
The future of former RJD Supremo Lalu Yadav is already an outdated topic in political circles. However, due to some bad precedents, few of his old supporters have been talking about his revival. Not anymore, as at the age of 73, Lalu is all set to serve a 5-year jail term.
Lalu sentenced by CBI Court
A special Court has awarded double punishment to the father of Tejaswi and Tej Pratap Yadav. Not only will Lalu Yadav serve a jail term, but he has also been ordered to pay a whopping Rs 60 lakh as a fine in a case related to the infamous fodder scam. The Court sentenced him for illegally withdrawing Rs 139.95 crores from the Doranda treasury in the Ranchi district of undivided Bihar.
Reportedly, as many as 75 of the accused, including Prasad, were convicted, while 24 including six women were acquitted by the Court. Lalu’s legal team has said that they will appeal against the decision in the High Court. They believe that Lalu has already served half of his term in jail.
“We will appeal this order in the High Court. He (Lalu) has already completed 36 months of his jail term” said Lalu Yadav’s counsel.
Read more: Lalu Yadav’s era ends, off for another trip to jail
This is the fifth time Lalu Yadav has been convicted in five cases related to massive 950 crore fodder scams. Fodder scam is one of the biggest scams unearthed by authorities in North India. When Lalu Prasad Yadav was unilaterally ruling undivided Bihar in the 1990s, there was little to no resistance to his power as Bihar’s law and order situation was worst in the country. Especially, political killings were rampant.
Read more: “Gundaraj Returns in Bihar”, Starring Shahabuddin
The 950 crore scam
Assuming that he would never get caught due to the absence of checks and balances, Lalu Yadav started to fill his own coffers with the money meant for feeding poor cattle. According to the charge sheet filed by CBI, Lalu and his friends usurped a total of Rs 950 crore from the treasury meant to serve the poor.
The scam was exposed in 1996 and due to mounting pressure, CBI was handed over the responsibility of investigations. A total of 170 charge sheets had been filed by CBI. Including Lalu, former MP Jagdish Sharma, the then Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Dhruv Bhagat, Animal Husbandry Secretary Beck Julius and Animal Husbandry Assistant Director Dr K M Prasad are other main accused.
It took 17 years to convict Lalu
The case required a back-breaking and time-consuming effort from CBI to establish convictions due to control of Bihar’s polity by Lalu Yadav and his minions. Lalu Yadav’s hold on the power can be gauged from the fact that his first conviction in a fodder scam came in 2013, 17 years after the scam was unveiled. He was sentenced to serve 5 years jail term for fraudulently withdrawing Rs 37.70 crores from the Chaibasa treasury.
Later Lalu was sentenced in three other cases related to the scam. In his fourth conviction, Lalu Yadav was asked to serve 14 years in Jail. However, in spite of being subject to multiple jail terms in different cases, Lalu Yadav is roaming free on bails given to him by the Courts.
Lalu-One of the many blots of socialism
Lalu is one of the many poor legacies of the socialist movement in India. When Jai Prakash Narayan (JP) led a nationwide storm against Indira Gandhi led Congress, leaders like Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan emerged as key subordinates of JP. Later on, changing caste polarisations in the wake of Mandal Commission’s recommendations proved to be a key factor in Lalu’s rise to power in Bihar.
Lalu Yadav’s tenure proved to be disastrous for Bihar. Bihar became a breeding ground for gang wars between mafias, baahubalis and Naxalism. Caste-based killings were observed by locals on a scale never seen in history. Lalu Yadav ruled Bihar was termed Jungle Raaj outside the state. Bihar, already a landlocked state saw negligible investment due to lawlessness, which ultimately forced Biharis to ploy their trade outside the state.
Read more: Extortion industry and 4 more things about Lalu Prasad Yadav that his Biopic must not miss
Lalu Yadav is on decline
After Lalu was ousted from power in Bihar, it took 8 years for the system to convict him. Meanwhile, Lalu Yadav’s position had started to decline as his sons started to take over. Lalu Yadav has been relegated to the post-retirement role of ‘Margdarshak’ by his party members.
70 is too much for a politician to continue serving. Most of the old but relevant politicians are asked to serve as president or governors by their colleagues. Lalu Yadav is old but he is not considered relevant by many. 5-year jail term at 73 is the final nail in the coffin of his political career.