Benami land deal: BJP demands sacking of Lalu Prasad Yadav's sons from Bihar government

Patna: BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday demanded sacking of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s sons – Tejashwi and Tej Pratap – from Bihar government, a day after the Income Tax Department charged six family members of the RJD chief under anti-benami assets act in connection with its probe into alleged land deals worth Rs 1,000 crore. [caption id=“attachment_2808832” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Sushil Kumar Modi. PTI[/caption] The Income Tax Department has already acted on the “expose” about the RJD chief’s family amassing benami properties worth more than Rs 1,000 crore by ordering provisional attachment of 14 properties in Delhi and Patna to the tune of Rs 170-80 crore, he told reporters. “… some of these benami properties belong to deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and health minister Tej Pratap Yadav,” he alleged. Seeking to remind Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar of his government’s “zero-tolerance” policy on corruption, Modi asked the him to take cognisance of I-T department’s action against Prasad’s family members. “The onus is on the chief minister to take action against Tejashwi and Tej Pratap if he is serious about his government’s zero tolerance policy on corruption…,” the BJP leader said. About a fortnight ago, Nitish, while commenting on the allegations, had said that if the Centre had proof against his Cabinet ministers then what was stopping the Central agencies from acting. Lalu Prasad has consistently brushed aside charges against his family members about amassing benami properties by saying that all transactions were on record and declared before relevant authorities.