SuMo: Lalu’s son working as handling agent of steel co

PATNA: Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday accused leader of Opposition in the state assembly and RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s younger son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav of working as ‘handling and storage agent’ of Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) since 2012.

“Tejashwi also owns a company – Lara and Sons – which is engaged in sales of iron and steel. He, however, did not disclose this information in his affidavit before the Election Commission (EC) when he filed papers for Bihar Assembly polls in 2015,” the deputy CM said, further accusing Tejashwi of evading taxes on the earnings of Lara and Sons.

Providing documents to buttress his claims, Modi said Tejashwi even kept showing the turnover of his business as zero in his value added tax (VAT) returns.

“Tejashwi has been doing business in millions as the handling and storage agent of JSPL. He was appointed as handling and storage agent on September 28, 2012, by the JSPL when he was merely 22 years old,” Modi said.

The deputy CM, who also holds the portfolio of finance in the Nitish Kumar-led coalition government, provided copies of the stockyard agreement between JSPL and Tejashwi’s company in support of his allegations.

“My question is why did he (Tejashwi) conceal the information about owning Lara and Sons. Why did he not disclose the property he has acquired for the purpose and the income that he may have earned through this business in his declaration of assets before the EC,” Modi asked.

The deputy CM said he would soon write to the EC and the income-tax authorities, drawing their attention to the alleged irregularities being committed by the owner of Lara and Sons.

Reacting to the allegations in a series of tweets, Tejashwi asked whether the work of doing trade had been assigned to the ‘fathers of few people’. Terming Modi as ‘king of falsehood’, Tejashwi, in one of his tweets, said: “You (Modi) have since long been alleging that we are getting a mall constructed at the cost of Rs 750 crore. Now even Enforcement Directorate and the IT Department are putting the value of the said mall at not more than Rs 45 crore. Why do you not get investigations ordered instead of confusing people with baseless allegations (sic)?”

Courtesy: TNN