Lalu on the High Court upholding the Bihar Caste Survey: “Victory of the Poor”
RJD leader Lalu Prasad said on Tuesday that the Patna High Court’s ruling on the state’s caste census is in the best interests of the underprivileged and would help all facets of society. The court accepted the caste survey as “perfectly valid” and “initiated with due competence” while rejecting a number of petitions that contested it.
The decision by the Patna High Court to reject all appeals against the Bihar government’s plan to undertake a caste-based census in the state is hailed as a triumph for the underprivileged and economically marginalized groups. With his son, Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, at his side, Prasad informed reporters that the exercise will be advantageous to all facets of society.
In order to properly execute welfare programs for socially and economically disadvantaged populations, the government will benefit from the survey results, he said. Former state chief minister Prasad said that Nitish Kumar and the deputy CM should be commended for carrying out the task.
“From the outset, we have supported the caste survey. According to him, the exercise would provide the government information it may use to carry out projects that will help the weakest segments of society. The poll was initiated early this year after being mandated last year.
In its 101-page verdict, a division bench led by Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarathy stated, “We find the state’s action to be perfectly valid, initiated with due competence, and with the legitimate aim of providing development with justice.”
Tejashwi interjected when journalists questioned the senior politician about the ED seizing assets worth more than Rs 6 crore that belonged to his family in relation to the suspected land-for-railway employment scam, saying, “There is nothing surprising at all.”
“The investigating authorities were talking about Rs 6,000 crore first, then they switched to Rs 600 crore, and now they have assets worth Rs 6 crore temporarily attached. As a result, the BJP-led central government and its institutions have been completely discredited. The information on the properties owned by our family is readily available to the public. All information is online, he said.
As part of its money laundering probe into Lalu Prasad and his family, including his wife Rabri Devi, daughter Misa Bharti, and related firms, the ED said on Monday that it has attached assets worth more than Rs 6 crore.
According to a statement from the agency, a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was issued to seize six moveable properties in Patna, Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh), and a four-story home in the exclusive New Friends Colony neighborhood in south Delhi.
