Fodder scam case: CBI has been unjust to me, says Lalu

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was released from the Birsa Jail in Ranchi on Monday, said he could not state how unjust the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had been with him in connection with the fodder scam case.

"The CBI hasn't done right. I cannot state what the kind of injustice they have done with me," said Yadav.

"But, I was not afraid of going to jail, as a person who is scared of jail, cannot do anything in life," he said.

"I believed in the law and had faith in it. I was sure they would let me go," said Yadav.

Yadav, 65, was granted bail on Friday.

He was convicted along with dozens of others for his part in a 1990s animal fodder racket in Bihar in which crores of rupees were siphoned off.

Yadav was the chief minister of Bihar for most of the 1990s and was succeeded by his wife.

Yadav was convicted along with dozen others for his involvement in the fodder scam in Bihar.

The scam was about government employees submitting false expense reports, which grew in magnitude and drew politicians until a full-fledged mafia had formed.

An inquiry by the CBI led to the arrest of those who were found to be involved in the scam.

His son, Tejaswi Yadav, offered prayers at a temple on Saturday after the bail was granted.

Addressing mediapersons, Tejaswi Yadav said: "We have welcomed the decision of the apex court and this is not a bail for Lalu Yadav alone, but a bail for all the poor and needy people of Bihar and Jharkhand."

Yadav also lost his Lok Sabha seat, making him the first to be hit by the Supreme Court ruling in July - reflecting the popular mood - which convicts may not sit in legislatures even during an appeal.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RLD) legislator Sanjay Yadav said: "We will make the strategies after he comes out. He will be coming out on Monday."

His conviction and expulsion from Parliament presents the Congress party with a dilemma as it heads into an election, due by next May, whose outcome will most likely depend on coalition alliances.