Lalu Prasad surrenders in Ranchi CBI court
Ranchi, Aug 30 : Former Bihar Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad on Thursday surrendered in a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here to serve his sentence in a fodder scam case.
Lalu Prasad surrendered before Justice S.S. Prasad, who sent him to the Birsa Munda Central Jail.
From jail he could later be shifted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) for treatment, the judge said. The Jharkhand High Court on August 24 had directed him to surrender by August 30. He was out on provisional bail since May 11.
The RJD chief arrived here in Jharkhand late on Wednesday to surrender in the court.
State leaders including former Union Minister and Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay and former Jharkhand Chief Ministers -- Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Hemant Soren and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajantarik chief Babulal Marandi -- met him at a guest house where he was staying.
Before surrendering, Lalu Prasad told reporters: "I have faith in the judiciary." He was in Ranchi's Birsa Munda Central Jail after being convicted in December 2017 in a fodder scam case.
He was convicted in two more cases in January and March and awarded 14 years imprisonment. In 2013, Lalu Prasad was convicted in the first fodder scam case and sentenced to jail for five years.
The multi-million fodder scam had surfaced in the 1990s when he was the Bihar Chief Minister. At the directive of the Patna High Court, the probe was handed over to the CBI.
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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses EC of ‘bias’, defends state guarantee schemes ahead of bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the EC of "double standards" and "bias" after it sought details on the state’s guarantee schemes in Davanagere and Bagalkot districts, where bypolls are scheduled for Thursday.
In a post on 'X' on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the Election Commission of India had asked the Karnataka government for information on fund releases under five ongoing guarantee schemes in the constituencies going to polls.
The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively.
The schemes are Gruha Jyothi, which provides 200 units of free electricity to every household; Gruha Lakshmi, offering Rs 2,000 to women heading families; and Anna Bhagya, supplying 10 kg of rice per month to each member of BPL families.
In addition, Yuva Nidhi grants Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders aged 18–25 for two years, while Shakti enables women to travel free of charge within Karnataka on government non-luxury buses.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the ECI had remained silent when similar cash transfer schemes were announced in Maharashtra and Bihar ahead of elections, calling the scrutiny of Karnataka’s schemes a "clear case of bias".
"In states like Maharashtra and Bihar, cash transfer schemes were announced or fast-tracked just before elections, directly benefiting voters. Yet the ECI remained silent. This is not neutrality—it is complicity," he said.
The CM accused the BJP and NDA governments of "a double standard", noting that when they act, the ECI "looks the other way", but when Karnataka fulfils its promises, it faces "intense scrutiny".
He added that targeting the state’s guarantee schemes is "not just political but anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-Karnataka."
Siddaramaiah clarified that these schemes were not launched in connection with the bypolls but are ongoing programmes implemented as part of the Congress government’s commitments from the 2023 Assembly elections.
Funds are transferred regularly to beneficiaries in a transparent and structured manner, he added.
"The guarantees are part of governance—a direct investment in human dignity, household stability, and economic participation, not inducement," he said.
He also accused the BJP of "hypocrisy", saying that while it criticises Karnataka’s schemes as "freebies", it rolls out similar programmes in states it governs.
"The Karnataka model has set a benchmark for the country. What is deeply concerning, however, is the ECI’s selective approach," Siddaramaiah added.
