Cong reserves comment on issue of 5-yr sentence for Lalu

Signalling an unwillingness to burn its bridges with RJD, Congress today steered clear of comment on the five-year jail term handed out to Lalu Prasad Yadav in a fodder scam case.
Party spokesman Meem Afzal also sought to ignore RJD's charges of conspiracy on the issue of the now withdrawn ordinance aimed at saving lawmakers from immediate disqualification upon conviction.
"We do not comment on court verdicts. Lalu's party has said it will go in for an appeal in the higher courts and that is it," Afzal said in reply to a volley of questions on the issue.
On the charges of conspiracy levelled by RJD leaders like Raghuvansh Prasad Singh on the ordinance issue, Afzal said, "There is no such conspiracy. They are right now disappointed over the move. It is clear that they are in a shock. We will not go by their word. We understand their feeling. There is scope for appeal. A lot of scope is still there."

Afzal also declined to comment on Congress leader Digvijay Singh's remarks that Lalu had become a victim of conspiracy in the fodder scam case, saying the legal process was on.
He also sidestepped a question on any alleged conspiracies in the fodder scam case. "It is difficult to say now. It is a very old case," he said.

On the issue of the party's alliance with RJD, he said "Till now, they are with us. Their support is with us. Let us see how the situation evolves. Situations keep changing in politics. Alliances are made and broken. The issue of alliances is decided by the AK Antony Committee."

Asked whether it saw any eventuality of both RJD and JD(U) supporting the Congress-led coalition, he said, "Their support is not only for Congress, they are supporting secularism."
Party General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed, who hails from Bihar, said there were provisions in the Constitution that if somebody was not happy with a lower court judgement, he can appeal in a higher court.