Land-For-Jobs Case: RJD Slams Centre After ED Attaches Assets Of Lalu's Family

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Monday slammed the Centre after the ED attached some assets as part of its money laundering investigation against party supremo Lalu Prasad, his family and others, saying the objective of such actions is to "disrupt" the opposition alliance INDIA.

RJD MP and spokesperson Manoj Jha accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of "spinning and planting stories" in the media about the investigation against Prasad and his family, and claimed that the government had sought an extension for the probe agency's chief to "target" opposition leaders.

The ED on Monday said it has attached assets worth more than Rs 6 crore belonging to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's family -- his wife Rabri Devi and daughter Misa Bharti -- and linked companies as part of its money laundering investigation against them in an alleged land-for-railway jobs scam.

A provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been issued to attach the six immovable assets in Patna, Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) and a four-storey bungalow at D-1088 in the posh New Friends Colony area of south Delhi, the agency said in a statement.     

Reacting to the development, Jha said, "We had addressed a press conference on July 27 about the person who has been given an extension as the ED chief. "After the Supreme Court's rap, they have not been left with any alternative and will destabilise the governments of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. What is being run in the media that wealth worth 6 crore of Lalu Prasad's family has been attached, is not true. This is political and will not succeed," he said.

"When we had raised questions about the concerned person in ED, we knew what they are going to do. They will spin such stories, they will plant stories, their objective is to disrupt INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance)...You will not be able to do it," he said.

The opposition had slammed the BJP-led Centre on Friday over the extension of the tenure of ED chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra till September 15, alleging that this was done with "ulterior political motives" and was aimed at targeting the leaders of the INDIA bloc with "false cases" to weaken the alliance.

The Supreme Court on Thursday extended Mishra's tenure till the midnight of September 15 in larger "public and national interest", after the Centre asserted that his continuity is necessary in view of the ongoing FATF peer review and attempts by India's neighbours to ensure that the country gets into the "grey" list.