JD-U leader accused of money distribution
Former Bihar minister Shyam Razak, a candidate of the ruling JD(U) in Tuesday’s Assembly polls, faced charges of using money to influence voters even as the polling process in his constituency, Phulwarisharif near Patna, was in progress.
Scores of voters displayed Rs 100 notes and coupons bearing Mr Razak’s printed name which they said were given to them in envelops by people claiming to be working for him. But Mr Razak, a prominent dalit leader, swiftly denied the charges as a conspiracy to malign his image and instead blamed RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who had been his political benefactor for over a decade till Mr Razak quit the RJD to join the JD(U) in 2009.
“Why did not they (voters making the charges) catch hold of the people who gave them the money? These are part of a cheap, but dangerous conspiracy by the Opposition to malign my image at a time when it has become increasingly clear that I am winning and the NDA is returning to power in Bihar again,” said Mr Razak.
Defending himself, Mr Razak added, “I am not like the RJD chief, who has gone to jail, eaten fodder and degrees (a reference to the `1,000-crore fodder scam and the academic degree scam during the RJD regime)”.
Interestingly, Mr Yadav had warned voters in Phulwarisharif during a visit on Diwali day that money could be distributed among RJD supporters to persuade them to vote for other parties. The RJD quickly denied any role in the allegations levelled against Mr Razak by voters in Phulwarisharif and attacked the former RJD minister and national general secretary for levelling “baseless charges”. The seizure of Rs 1.55 lakh in cash from a Maruti Alto car without a registration number in Phulwarisharif constituency during the polling hours by the police also indicated at possibilities of money power being in use to influence voters. The five people arrested claimed they were going to buy a tractor, but the police probe started and the EC, according to sources there, took note of the charges against Mr Razak.
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