Patna, March 4 (IANS) The ghost of the fodder scam, one of Bihar’s biggest corruption scandals, resurfaced in the state assembly on Tuesday, leading to a verbal clash between Tejashwi Yadav and Nitish Mishra.
Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, accused the ruling party of selective targeting over the fodder scam on day three of the budget session in the Bihar assembly.
He pointed out that Jagannath Mishra, former Bihar Chief Minister and father of Nitish Mishra (BJP), was also convicted in the scam.
“Why does the ruling party always take my father’s name but never mention Jagannath Mishra?” he said.
Fodder scam, a Rs 950 crore scam involving fraudulent withdrawals meant for cattle fodder. Lalu Prasad Yadav was convicted and served multiple jail terms.
Jagannath Mishra was also convicted but often overlooked in political debates.
Tejashwi Yadav accused the ruling party of only mentioning Lalu Prasad Yadav’s conviction in the scam while ignoring Jagannath Mishra, another former CM, who was also convicted. Nitish Mishra, son of Jagannath Mishra, immediately stood up to defend his father, stating that he was acquitted by the court.
Tejashwi countered, saying: “You are giving incomplete information. Your father was acquitted in two cases but convicted in others.”
Jagannath Mishra was convicted in a fodder scam in two cases related to Chaibasa Treasury and sentenced to four and five years.
He was acquitted in the Dumka and Deoghar cases. In Doranda’s case, the hearing remained incomplete before his passing.
Unlike Lalu Yadav, Jagannath Mishra never served jail time.
Following the heated exchange between Tejashwi Yadav and Nitish Mishra, Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav had to step in to calm the situation.
–IANS
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