Bihar's upcoming elections are marked by the significant presence of candidates from political families, raising questions about ideological commitments and democratic principles.
Mishra was catapulted to the chief ministership of Bihar following the assassination of his elder brother Lalit Narayan Mishra in 1975.
Chhatrapati Yadav, the MLA from Khagaria Sadar, has shot off a letter to Congress high command, demanding that he be considered, by virtue of his caste, for a berth in the new cabinet headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
As chief ministers of Bihar they enjoyed the perks and benefits of being in power. And now, even though they no longer enjoy the power, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, Nitish Kumar, Jagannath Mishra and Ram Sunder Das, will be entitled to retain a few benefits.
"Lalu Prasad has been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment while a penalty of Rs 60 lakh has also been imposed on him. Apart from Prasad, five years imprisonment each was announced by the Court for five convicts, four years each for 32 convicts and three years each for three convicts," CBI counsel B M P Singh told PTI.
The quantum of punishment will be announced on January 3, 2018.
In a body blow to Rashtriya Janata Dal before next year's Lok Sabha polls, its President Lalu Prasad was on Monday convicted by a special CBI court in Ranchi in the fodder scam corruption case that disqualifies him from Parliament and renders him ineligible for contesting elections for at least six years.
A special CBI court on Friday sentenced disqualified Janata Dal-United MP Jagdish Sharma to four years rigorous imprisonment in a fodder scam case.
A Special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Patna on Thursday framed charges against Bihar's former chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra, along with 32 other accused, in the multi-crore fodder scam case. According to court officials, the CBI court framed charges against Lalu, Mishra and others including former Member of Legislative Assembly R K Rana and Janata Dal United Member of Parliament Jagdish Sharma.
CBI judge B K Jain, however, did not take up framing of charges against the accused after six accused of them, including Mishra, moved a petition praying that they be allowed to challenge in Patna High Court the CBI court's August 18 order rejecting their discharge petitions in the case.
He had already been granted bail in the Chaibasa Treasury Scam case in October 2020, and in the Deoghar Treasury Scam case in February 2020.
The court in its judgment said the RJD chief was guilty of fraudulently withdrawing Rs 3.13 crore from the Dumka Treasury between December 1995 and January 1996, when he was the chief minister of undivided Bihar.
CBI judge Shiv Pal Singh directed senior RJD leaders Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Shivanand Tiwari and Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leader Manish Tewari to personally appear before the court on January 23.
A Central Bureau of Investigation court in Patna on Wednesday ordered Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad to appear in the court on September 6, in connection with the multi crore fodder scam, court official said The court in its orders made it clear to Lalu Prasad to appear physically in the court, a court sources said.
So far, 29 out of 31 accused have been convicted by the court.
His career as a bureaucrat has been somewhat colourless, which suggests his current elevation is simply a matter of being at the right place at the right time.
Lalu is accused in five of the 39 cases related to the scam.
He had moved the court on October 17 against his conviction and sentencing in a fodder scam case and filed a bail petition.
They entered the Bihar poll battle to protect and carry forward their fathers' political legacy, but many of them could not win their own seat though some tasted victory.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal on Sunday has expressed its full faith and confidence in its jailed leader Lalu Prasad and his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi to lead the party.
The court to announce punishment against Lalu tomorrow at 2 pm via video conferencing.
RJD sources said that the party would appeal against the verdict.
Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail after his conviction in the fodder scam case on Monday, will hear the arguments on the quantum of sentence and the punishment on October 3 in the jail through videoconferencing.
Central Bureau of Investigation Special Court Judge Shiv Pal Singh, hearing the case, was quick to reply, "Then play the tabla (musical instrument)".
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, in jail following his conviction in the fodder scam, moved the Jharkhand high court on Thursday against the Central Bureau of Investigation court's judgement which found him guilty.
The Supreme Court's verdict puts nearly half a dozen former chief ministers in the state of Bihar in a hotspot.
A Central Bureau of Investigation court in Ranchi will pronounce its judgement on Monday in the multi-crore fodder scam, in which Rashtriya Janata Party chief Lalu Prasad, if convicted, will face immediate disqualification as a Lok Sabha member.
Usually, the chair in the Upper House reads out obituary references before members rise as a mark of respect to the memory of the departed.
The court had on March 19 held the 69-year-old Rashtriya Janata Dal chief guilty along with 18 others in connection with the case - RC 38 A/96.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday welcomed the conviction of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam case by a special CBI court in Ranchi while the Congress said that the law had taken its course.
Modi said people used to believe that the rich and powerful were not affected by anti-corruption drives and asserted that it was no longer true.
As Bihar awaits the results in the much-awaited polls, Rediff.com takes a look at some of those leaders who won and lost.
'For two months, Jitan Ram Manjhi kept a low profile. Once he was put in a place of power even though he had not acquired it himself, he thought he deserved it. He thought he must promote his own political career. Secondly, all those who were opposed to Nitish Kumar, either within the party or outside, started supporting him,' says Professor Prabhat Ghosh, director of the Asian Development Research Institute in Patna.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear the bail plea of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, who is undergoing a five-year jail term after being convicted in a fodder scam case, and sought response from the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Former chief minister Jagannath Mishra was also found guilty in the case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.62 crore from the Chaibasa treasury in the 1990s.
L N Mishra was the first Cabinet minister to be assassinated in Independent India. After Monday's judgment, almost 40 years after the murder, the minister's son tells Rediff.com why the government must reveal who really killed his father.
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The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad in a fodder scam case, in a relief to the politician who is behind the bars for the last two months after being awarded a five-year jail term.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was on Monday released from Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi, two-and-a-half months after he was convicted in a fodder scam case.
A weak and troubled United Progressive Alliance government has stumbled badly by issuing the ordinance to counter the fine judgment by the Supreme Court that forces the disqualification of lawmakers convicted for a criminal offence punishable with a jail term of over two years.
Lalu's return to the political forefront signifies the hold RJD chief exercises over public consciousness.
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