17 years on, CBI court convicts Lalu and 44 others in Bihar fodder scam

RJD Chief Could Face A Stiff Jail Term   Ranchi: A CBI court on Monday convicted former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad in a fodder scam-related case. The judgment, which has far-reaching political consequences, clears the way for the RJD chief's disqualification from the Lok Sabha and will debar him from contesting elections for possibly as long as 13 years.      In all, 45 people were convicted including another former Bihar CM and former Union minister Jagannath Mishra and several former bureaucrats of Bihar. The verdict is a rare instance of two CMs, that too belonging to rival political parties, convicted in one case: something which underlined the pervasive nature of the scam in which politicians of different stripes connived with bureaucrats to siphon off huge  funds meant for expenses, including provision of fodder, on livestock.      The conviction, which comes at a time when Lalu is struggling to regain his onceformidable influence in Bihar politics, is the second of an important politician after July 10 when the Supreme Court stripped convicted lawmakers of the immunity they enjoyed from disqualification. Earlier, a CBI court had convicted former Union minister Rashid Masood for allegedly trying to influence admissions to medical colleges. Masood's sentence has not been announced.      Although the court said it would announce the quantum of sentence on October 3, it granted bail to all eight persons who were convicted for up to three years in the case of fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37 crore from Chaibasa treasury: a certain indication that the Rashtriya Janata Dal strongman is in for a bigger sentence. The Representation of People Act, as it stands after the July order of SC, prescribes instant disqualification of politicians who have been convicted for offences punishable with terms of two years or more.      This threatens to be a career-debilitating move for the 66-year-old former CM if he does not win an acquittal from a higher court swiftly enough: a dodgy prospect given the pace of judicial administration. After he has served his term, estimated to be between 5-7 years, Lalu will have to sit out for another six years under the law before he can contest an election.      Considering that the RJD is no longer the force it was and Lalu's appeal has waned since the heady 1990s, the political exile could cause serious trouble for the once-formidable chieftain of Bihar. The sentence can, in the immediate run, energize the party's base, particularly among Yadavs who see the case as an upper caste frame-up.  COULD BE OUT OF POLITICS FOR 13 YRS      RJD chief Lalu Prasad first Lok Sabha MP to be convicted  after Supreme Court's July 2013 order disqualifying MPs, MLAs convicted by any court for crimes with punishment of two years or more      Lalu plus 44 accused, including former Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra, six politicians and four IAS officers, convicted for fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from Chaibasa treasury      The fodder scam, also called treasury scam, broke in 1996. Nexus of politicos, senior state officers and suppliers siphoned off govt money against inflated and fictitious bills for medicines, fodder for cattle and animal husbandry equipment      Lalu will lose LS seat, become ineligible for contesting elections for at least six years after completion of sentence. If he gets maximum term of 7 yrs, Lalu could end up out of electoral politics for 13 years  WHAT IT MEANS FOR LALU, HIS PARTY, HIS FAMILY      Massive fall in the fortunes of the man who dominated Bihar for a decade and a half. His political career is eclipsed if not terminated. RJD's core Yadav support may rally around in immediate future. But as it is not clear who in his family will take charge, RJD faces a rough passage  FALLOUT IN BIHAR AND DELHI      Congress may intensify efforts to align with JD(U). In Delhi, Congress will be happy with JD(U)'s 20 MPs to RJD's 4. Should help Nitish Kumar pull in more non-Yadav backward and Muslim votes. BJP will hope to gain a share of backward votes. If Congress-JD(U) move closer, Bihar politics can become more bi-polar  RAHUL EFFECT      Rahul Gandhi's attack on the ordinance was intended to retrieve ground for Congress, but Lalu has become its first victim in terms of losing his Lok Sabha seatRJD chief in jail, party faces leadership vacuum  Ranchi: The conviction of Lalu Prasad in the fodder scam could result in the adverse effect of a leadership vacuum in the RJD in the long run, and a strong possibility of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar poaching the support of Muslims. The risk is higher because the succession line is not clear.      There was a moment of stunned silence both inside the special CBI court No. 4 which was packed to capacity with lawyers and Lalu loyalists as well as outside as the news of conviction wafted out around 11.15am. Lalu cited the looming Durga Puja vacation as he pleaded with the judge that he pronounce the sentence on Monday itself so that he could appeal in the high court as well as move for bail. The court, however, expressed its inability to do so since the judgment would go up to 500 pages divided into several parts. "Aap to bhagwan hain,'' Lalu then told the judge, urging him to at least consider doing so.      The order was widely anticipated and had led the former Bihar CM to approach the SC to seek transfer of the case from the court of CBI judge Pravas Kumar Singh by alleging bias, as well as to successfully lobby the UPA government to bring the ordinance designed to save convicted politicians from being unseated. The ordinance was shot down by Rahul Gandhi who called it "nonsense" and rebuked the government for being influenced by political considerations: a code for UPA managers' anxiety to protect Lalu who has been a steadfast Congress ally even before UPA was formed.      The case, RC-20A/96, is part of a bunch of cases CBI took up at the instance of the judiciary which accepted the argument that the state government, then led by Lalu himself, could not be expected get to the bottom of the scam. The investigation was conducted by a team led by U N Biswas, now a minister in the TMC government in West Bengal, which included current CBI chief Ranjit Sinha.      The investigation climaxed in 1997 when the then CBI chief Joginder Singh ordered the registration of a case against the then Bihar CM. It forced Lalu to resign and appoint his wife Rabi Devi, then a homemaker, as his successor. Lalu's arrest shortly afterwards was accompanied by tension as Biswas approached the area commander of the army to deploy troops to deal with any trouble: again acontentious move which was rejected by the local commander.      For the full report, log on to www.timesofindia.com Lalu Prasad arrives at the special CBI court in Ranchi The conviction was widely anticipated and had led the former Bihar CM to approach the SC to seek transfer of the case

Indian Markets On Fire As FIIs Pump In 3,544Cr In A Day Sensex close to 3-year high, 2nd-highest gain ever for

Global Cheer As US Stimulus To Continue

Mumbai: In the most dramatic U-turn in the history of India's currency and stock markets, the rupee and the sensex extended their scorching-hot streak on Thursday. The rupee made its second-highest gain ever of 161 paise against the dollar while the sensex recorded its second-sharpest rise of 684 points in four years to close 
at a 34-month high of 20,647 after the US Federal Reserve dropped plans to cut back its fiscal stimulus—a plan which had sent emerging markets into a free fall since May. 
    A day after the US Fed surprised markets by deciding to continue with its $85 billion-amonth bond buyback, a wave of optimism swept global markets from Indonesia to Turkey and South Africa to Brazil with stocks and currencies gaining across the board. The Indian rupee, which was the second best performer after the Indonesian Rupiah on Friday, appreciated to 61.78 from its previous close of 63.39.Foreign institutional investors scrambled to buy stocks, pumping in Rs 3,544 crore in a single day, one of the highest ever, fuelling a 2.43% increase in the sensex. 
    Ben Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, chose to continue with the stimulus fearing that higher interest rates in the US could trip growth. The decision has ensured that there won't be any disruption through withdrawal of stimulus at least until December. 
    "If there are measures to increase liquidity, they would not be positive for the exchange rate. However,since the overall sentiment has turned positive, I do not expect any major impact," said Ashutosh Raina, head of forex trading at HDFC Bank. 
Home, auto loans get costlier as SBI springs surprise, hikes rates T he State Bank of India on Thursday hiked its benchmark rates and revised the pricing of retail loans, making home and auto loans costlier. It has also raised its deposit rates to increase the pace of fund mobilization. A Rs 30 lakh home loan from SBI will now cost 10.1%, while loans for a higher amount will attract 10.3% interest rate. In case of auto loans, the interest for existing borrowers will go up from 10.45% to 10.55%, while new customers will pay 10.75%. It is perhaps the first time that existing borrowers will pay a lower rate than new customers. The bank's decision, coming a day ahead of the RBI's mid-term policy review, has surprised other lenders. P 21 Banks, auto drive sensex rally 
    He added that there was scope for further appreciation of the rupee. 
    "There is a strong support level at 60.50 and we could see the rupee moving into that range," he added. 
    The rally in the sensex was driven by banks, auto and real estate companies. These stocks are described as interest rate-sensitive as their earnings are directly affected by a rise in interest rates. One of the main strategies used by the Reserve Bank of India to prevent the rupee from depreciating is to raise interest rates. The rupee rally gives RBI governor Raghuram Rajan some wiggle room in framing his first monetary policy review on Friday—particularly on two fronts, inflation and growth. 
    The rupee has recovered at a much faster pace than it has fallen. The local currency has gained by nearly 8% in the last 11 trading sessions. The highest gain recorded by the rupee was on August 29—a day after the RBI announced a special window to lend dollars to oil companies. The rupee had gained by Rs 2.23 paise then as oil companies, which account for 40% of dollar demand, were no longer required to buy dollars only from the market. 
    The RBI's move to lend dollars was seen as a bit of a gamble. It was under the assumption that the rupee would firm up in future and oil companies could then buy dollars cheap and return them to the RBI. With the sharp appreciation in recent days the gamble appears to have paid off. But some fear that this sudden largesse might breed complacency as reforms to correct the economy's fundamentals are yet to take off. For Indian traders this would mean that the problem of dealing with a volatile exchange rate has merely been postponed; exporters are not rushing in to sell their dollars as they know that there could be a fresh round of uncertainty in three months.