08-12-2008, 09:09 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Land for jobs scam </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
What next to cheat the poor?
A new scandal has surfaced in which the Railway Minister and RJD president, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, has been accused of being involved. Mr Yadav, however, has denied involvement in this scam and has said that the charges were 'sponsored' by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and was a design to malign his image. These are facts that need to be investigated. A sting operation that has been conducted over a year by news channel IBN-7 has revealed that railway jobs had been offered in return for land, with the Railway Minister being blamed for grabbing land from poor people. If true, then this is despicable. Poor people have been deprived of their land, more so by someone who has claimed over the years to be a champion of social justice. Investigations by the news channel and the JD(U) have suggested that land worth several lakhs of rupees has been acquired. It appears that the way this was done was that the beneficiaries transferred some land to the close relatives of the Railway Minister. In particular, the JD(U) claims to possess documents of some 20 cases, belonging to the period 2000-08, in which the family of Mr Yadav was 'gifted' land in several places. Even senior RJD leaders appear not to have been spared. Bettiah MP Raghunath Jha, who was inducted into the Union Council of Ministers earlier this year, is said to have parted with a bungalow constructed by him in his previous Lok Sabha constituency of Gopalgunj. The property was apparently transferred in the name of the Railway Minister's son as a 'gift'. Another Union Minister Kanti Singh too appears to have 'gifted' property worth Rs 35 lakh to one of the sons of Mr Yadav. This is hardly the first time that Mr Yadav has been accused of corruption. The most famous charge against him has been in the 'fodder scam' which charges haunted Mr Yadav for years and had caused him to step down as Chief Minister of Bihar.
Mr Yadav was, however, cleared in 2006 by a Court in a case of possession of disproportionate assets. But if the charges made by IBN-7 and the JD (U) are true then the matter is indeed grave. Mr Yadav owes the country an explanation as does the UPA Government, which has remained silent on the issue. Quite clearly the claims made by the television channel need to be probed by the Government. If Mr Yadav is innocent then this should be conclusively proved to the country. If not, then the guilty should be punished. There cannot be any place in the Council of Ministers for those who are corrupt. It is, therefore, for the Prime Minister, Mr Manmohan Singh, to explain the issue to the people.
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The Pioneer Edit Desk
What next to cheat the poor?
A new scandal has surfaced in which the Railway Minister and RJD president, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, has been accused of being involved. Mr Yadav, however, has denied involvement in this scam and has said that the charges were 'sponsored' by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and was a design to malign his image. These are facts that need to be investigated. A sting operation that has been conducted over a year by news channel IBN-7 has revealed that railway jobs had been offered in return for land, with the Railway Minister being blamed for grabbing land from poor people. If true, then this is despicable. Poor people have been deprived of their land, more so by someone who has claimed over the years to be a champion of social justice. Investigations by the news channel and the JD(U) have suggested that land worth several lakhs of rupees has been acquired. It appears that the way this was done was that the beneficiaries transferred some land to the close relatives of the Railway Minister. In particular, the JD(U) claims to possess documents of some 20 cases, belonging to the period 2000-08, in which the family of Mr Yadav was 'gifted' land in several places. Even senior RJD leaders appear not to have been spared. Bettiah MP Raghunath Jha, who was inducted into the Union Council of Ministers earlier this year, is said to have parted with a bungalow constructed by him in his previous Lok Sabha constituency of Gopalgunj. The property was apparently transferred in the name of the Railway Minister's son as a 'gift'. Another Union Minister Kanti Singh too appears to have 'gifted' property worth Rs 35 lakh to one of the sons of Mr Yadav. This is hardly the first time that Mr Yadav has been accused of corruption. The most famous charge against him has been in the 'fodder scam' which charges haunted Mr Yadav for years and had caused him to step down as Chief Minister of Bihar.
Mr Yadav was, however, cleared in 2006 by a Court in a case of possession of disproportionate assets. But if the charges made by IBN-7 and the JD (U) are true then the matter is indeed grave. Mr Yadav owes the country an explanation as does the UPA Government, which has remained silent on the issue. Quite clearly the claims made by the television channel need to be probed by the Government. If Mr Yadav is innocent then this should be conclusively proved to the country. If not, then the guilty should be punished. There cannot be any place in the Council of Ministers for those who are corrupt. It is, therefore, for the Prime Minister, Mr Manmohan Singh, to explain the issue to the people.
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