Will Tejashwi resign as father Lalu is in jail? asks Bihar minister

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Bihar minister Ram Surat Rai, whose brother is allegedly involved in liquor smuggling, asked Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday whether he will resign as his father Lalu Prasad Yadav is in jail.

"I want to ask if Tejashwi Ji that will he resign because his father is in jail? Should Tej Pratap Yadav resign if there are cases against Tejashwi Yadav? Action should be taken against my brother if he is found guilty in the investigation. If he is found guilty, he should be sent to jail. I have no objection to that. But how am I guilty?" Rai told mediapersons here.

Rai holds the portfolio of the Minister of Revenue and Land Reforms in the Bihar Government.

Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who has been in prison since December 2017, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 2018 under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and seven years under the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the fodder scam case.

Lalu's younger son Tejashwi Yadav is leader of the opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly.

Earlier today, Tejashwi Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav and other RJD MLAs held a protest march towards Raj Bhawan after walking out of Bihar Assembly. They met the Governor and raised the issue before him.

Notably, there was a ruckus in the Bihar assembly regarding the allegations of smuggling of illicit liquor against the state minister Ram Surat Rai. The RJD demanded the resignation of Rai as a minister.

The controversy surfaced after illicit liquor was recovered earlier this week from a school in Muzaffarpur run by Rai's brother.

In 2016, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar banned alcohol consumption in Bihar making it a dry state.

( With inputs from ANI )