BJP sees change in Bihar politics after Lalu's sentencing

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Giriraj Singh on Thursday welcomed the five-year jail term for Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in a fodder scam case, and said there will be a definite change in the politics of Bihar in the coming days.

"It was already anticipated in the society and by the media that nothing can prevent Lalu's sentence; so I believe he got the punishment for what he did. After his sentence, there will be a definite change in the Bihar politics, but it is difficult to anticipate the change right now," he said.

He further said that the people would denounce all those who indulge in corrupt activities.

"The entire country is facing corruption by the Congress Government, but the people of this country will teach everyone a lesson who indulge in corruption. There will be a massive change in politics, as the people denounce all those involved in corruption," he added.

A special CBI court in Ranchi had this afternoon sentenced Yadav to five years in prison in connection with the fodder scam case.

The court also slapped a fine of Rs. 25 lakh on Yadav.

The verdict also disqualifies him from Lok Sabha membership and bars him from contesting elections for six years, according to a recent Supreme Court order.

Former Bihar Chief Minister Dr. Jagannath Mishra and sitting JD (U) MP Jagdish Sharma were sentenced to four years in prison each in the case.

Special CBI Judge Pravas Kumar Singh pronounced the quantum of punishment through video conferencing.

Yadav's lawyers earlier argued that he was too old and suffered from many diseases, to counter the CBI's plea for maximum punishment of seven years in jail for the RJD supremo in the fodder scam case.

Lalu and other convicts are currently lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.

In all, 45 fodder scam accused had been convicted in the case and the judge had delivered the sentence against eight of them on September 30 itself.

The fodder scam also known as "Chara Ghotala" involved the siphoning of funds from the Bihar Government treasury.

The alleged theft spanned over several years, and many Bihar state government administrative and elected officials across multiple administrations were allegedly engaged in it.

The fodder scam was unearthed in Bihar in 1996 when Lalu Prasad was the Chief Minister of the state. He had resigned from the post in 1997 after a court issued an arrest warrant against him in connection with one of the cases.