The decision on not contesting elections by Rabri and any of her family members may hurt the party.
Just a day after Congress MP Rasheed Masood was disqualified from the Rajya Sabha following his conviction in a corruption case, Lalu Prasad and Jagdish Sharma were also disqualified from the Lok Sabha. Both were convicted and sentenced by special CBI court in the fodder scam.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, an MP from Bihar’s Saran district, and Janata Dal (United) MP Jagdish Sharma from Jahanabad in Bihar are the first Lok Sabha members to be disqualified after the Supreme Court order.
The July 10 verdict of the apex court mandated immediate disqualification from parliament and state legislatures of lawmakers convicted for criminal offences punishable with a jail term of more than two years.
On Sep 30, a Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court convicted Lalu Prasad, Jagdish Sharma and others in a case of fraudulent withdrawal of Rs.37.70 crore from Chaibasa treasury in the then undivided Bihar during 1994-95 when Lalu Prasad was the chief minister.
Special CBI Judge Pravas Kumar Singh sentenced Lalu Prasad to five years’ imprisonment and slapped a Rs.25 lakh fine to him.
The RJD chief is lodged in Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi, the Jharkhand capital where the special CBI court tried and convicted him.
With this Lalu has also been barred from contesting election for six years.
Since the conviction came as a surprise to the RJD, it was decided later on by the party members that the party will be jointly led by Lalu and his wife, former CM of Bihar Rabri Devi.
However, the decision on not contesting elections by Rabri and any of her family members may hurt the party.
Since Lalu’s son is quite inexperienced in political field, he was not given any preference. His future is also on hold, tough there is not any word on whether he will contest the upcoming general elections or not.
-with inputs from IANS
