Laloo quits; wife is the new CM
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Laloo Prasad Yadav on Friday handed over the reins of Bihar to his wife Rabri Devi even as the Supreme Court stayed his arrest till Tuesday, July 29.
Hours after Laloo Yadav resigned as chief minister, Rabri Devi was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor A R Kidwai at Raj Bhavan. Rabri Devi, who is not a member of either House of the legislature, is the first woman chief minister of the state.
Though the clever move ensures that Laloo Yadav would be the de facto chief minister, it may not save him from the wrath of justice. For, the designated CBI court on Friday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Laloo Yadav and directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to produce him before the court by August 6.
This order has been stayed by a three-judge bench of the apex court -- Justices M K Mukherjee, S P Kurdukar and K T Thomas -- till July 29 only because the RJD chief's counsel sought time to submit the Patna high court's verdict.
CBI Special Judge S K Lal also issued non-bailable arrest
warrants against state Animal Husbandry Minister Bhola Ram Toofani,
Labour Minister Vidya Sagar Nishad, former Union minister
Chandra Dev Prasad Verma in the case.
Besides summoning all the other accused including former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra, the special judge made the formal announcement of taking cognisance of the chargesheet filed in the fodder scam.
In another development, the Patna high court,
monitoring the fodder scam, has asked the CBI to initiate a trial in prominent cases in the scam including the one involving Laloo Yadav.
The order was passed by Justices S N Jha and S J Mukhopadhyaya who fixed the next date of hearing on August 29 even as Laloo Yadav resigned as chief minister.
Laloo Yadav told the Front leadership on Thursday night that he would step down if DMK chief M Karunanidhi, TMC chief G K Moopanar and UF convenor N Chandrababu Naidu made an appeal to him in this regard. The leaders obliged.
Following this, Laloo Yadav called an emergency meeting of the RJD and tendered his resignation on ''moral grounds'', the sources said. The meeting then unanimously elected Rabri Devi as the leader of the legislature party.
Rabri Devi and 14 ministers were sworn at 1800 hours.
Laloo Yadav and his 11 children were present at the
function.
Later, talking to the media, the RJD chief whip in the Bihar
assembly, Ravindra Charan Yadav, said 168 MLAs expressed full faith in Laloo Yadav and authorised him to
nominate his successor. The meeting was attended by members of
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-S, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-M, the Jharkhand People's Party and a few Independents who are supporting the RJD government.
UNI
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