Soil scam: Lalu defends son, says corrupt 'cry fraud'

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Sunday shrugged off allegations of involvement of his son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tej Pratap Yadav in the soil scam.

Defending his son, Lalu asserted that corrupt people cry fraud.

"The people cry fraud when they themselves are corrupt. The soil was not sold to the zoo," he said.

Bihar Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh had earlier on Thursday given the order to investigate into the soil scam involving Tej Pratap.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Kumar Modi had earlier last week accused Yadav of giving a contract worth Rs. 90 lakh to a company for construction of pathways and improvement of the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park without tender.

The soil was allegedly dug out during the construction of a mall being built on a plot of land owned by the Yadav family on the outskirts of Patna.

While urging Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to set up an all-party committee to probe the scam, the BJP leader demanded Yadav's ouster from the Cabinet.

However, denying the allegations, Tej Pratap has threatened to file a defamation suit against Sushil Modi.