Bihar: ED questions Tejashwi Yadav in 'land-for-jobs' scam

Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav is being questioned by ED sleuths here in connection with the agency’s money laundering probe into the alleged land-for-jobs scam, officials said.

The former Bihar deputy chief minister reached the ED office around 11.35 am, they said.

His father and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad was questioned by the probe agency's officials for over nine hours on Monday regarding the same case.

The central probe agency had on January 19 issued fresh summons for questioning Prasad and Yadav.

Earlier in the day, RJD MP Manoj Jha asserted that the BJP’s top leadership is “afraid” of opposition parties, and it is targeting them by “misusing” central investigation agencies.

“The BJP is using the ED, CBI and IT Department against those it is afraid of... That is why it is trying to break (opposition parties) through these central agencies,” he told PTI.

Shakti Singh, RJD’s Member of Legislative Council (MLC), claimed, “It’s a known fact that Tejashwi Yadav was a minor at the time when the alleged scam took place. BJP leaders are ruffled as he provided a large number of jobs to people in the previous 'Mahagathbandhan' government in Bihar.” The RJD was a key constituent of the 'Mahagathbandhan'.

Reacting to the RJD’s allegations, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary told reporters, “When Lalu Prasad was the CM, he was involved in the fodder scam. When he was the Railways Minister, the land-for-jobs scam took place... The ED will certainly investigate the case.” The ‘land-for-jobs’ scam pertains to appointments in the Railways allegedly in return for land parcels between 2004 and 2009.