Lalu comes out in Rahul's support, demands PM's answer on charges

The RJD chief demanded that the charges be probed under supervision of the Supreme Court. He asked why PM does not file a defamation case if charges were wrong.

Patna, Dec 22: Former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on Thursday demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's answer to charges of alleged corruption levelled against him by Rahul Gandhi. The RJD chief demanded that the charges be probed under supervision of the Supreme Court.

"The allegations levelled by Rahul Gandhi against Narendra Modi of receiving huge money is even a bigger quake than talked about. He gave details of sum of money with dates on which payments were made. The Prime Minister should reply to the accusation and if the allegations are wrong why does not he file a defamation suit against Rahul Gandhi?" he said.

"The Prime Minister should institute a high-level probe under supervision of the Supreme Court into the allegations," he added.

Rahul on Wednesday levelled serious allegations against Modi. He said that Modi, as Gujarat chief minister, had taken money from Sahara and Birla groups and demanded an independent inquiry into it.

Addressing a rally in Mehsana, Gujarat, the Congress vice president alleged that in the I-T records there are notings of Sahara officials' claims that they had paid 9 times to Modi between October, 2013 and February, 2014. Gandhi said the documents in this regard were with IT department which had raided the company when Modi was Gujarat chief minister.

Launching a blistering attack on the Prime Minister for "ill-planned" demonetisation, Prasad mockingly described Narendra Modi as 'Uncle Podger'-- a bumbling character from Jerome K Jerome's 'Three Men in a Boat'-- for "messing up economy" and "pushing it towards anarchy".

"Demonetisation has flopped and those raising voice of people over anarchy caused by it are termed as traitors," he said as a retort to PM's comment on rivals at Varanasi. Prasad whose party has already announced a dharna against scrapping of notes in district headquarters of Bihar on December 28 said later a rally would be held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.

He said he would tour the state before the rally. Prasad claimed support of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said Kumar has also dismissed plea of converting the country into cashless society. "Nitish Kumar has said he would review demonetisation after December 30...there is no difference in the grand alliance...we are strongly united," Prasad, whose party RJD is running coalition government with JD(U) and Congress in Bihar, said.

PTI