New Delhi, April 30: Convicted RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Monday blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he was told to leave AIIMS where he was being treated to return to Ranchi, shortly after Congress President Rahul Gandhi called on the former Bihar Chief Minister.

"It (shifting from AIIMS to Ranchi hospital) is under the pressure from the Centre, from Narendra Modi that I am being sent back there. It is entirely due to political rivalry," Lalu Prasad told reporters as he came out of AIIMS on a wheelchair after being discharged.

The RJD leader said shifting him back to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) in Ranchi was a conspiracy so that his health would deteriorate further. "I am being shifted to a place where there are no facilities. It is a tough time, but I will face it."

But AIIMS spokesperson B.N. Acharya said the decision followed the recommendation of a medical board set up for his treatment which found significant improvement in his health and that "he was discharged on Saturday" itself.

Some supporters of the RJD leader, annoyed over his "sudden discharge", allegedly misbehaved with the hospital staff and even damaged the glass door of Cath Lab, resulting in injury to a security guard. AIIMS asked police to lodge an FIR.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi called on Lalu Prasad at AIIMS and had a half hour meeting with him.

Lalu Prasad, who was admitted to AIIMS on March 29 for treatment of heart and kidney related ailments, wrote in a letter to AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria: "If I am sent from AIIMS to Ranchi medical college, in case of any danger to my life, sole responsibility will be on you all.

"Doctors are a reflection of god. They should not take any decision under pressure from any individual or political party. Their first duty is towards complete recovery of the patient's health. Till the time I am fully healthy, I should be kept here for treatment," he added.

The RJD leader said he had backache, frequent dizziness and had fallen in the bathroom several times.

However, the hospital in a detailed statement said: "Lalu Prasad was referred from RIMS Ranchi with peri anal abcess, high blood sugar and infection. AIIMS constituted a medical board consisting of senior faculty members from department of medicine, surgery, cardiology, endocrinology and nephrology for his care. 

"He was put on injectable antibiotics and then on oral antibiotics. His blood sugar was controlled and evaluation for cardiac and renal status was also done. He showed significant improvement. He had no fever and his antibiotics were stopped."

Lalu Prasad was admitted to RIMS in Ranchi on March 17 following complaints of uneasiness when he was lodged at the Birsa Munda Jail where he is serving a jail term since December 23, 2017 in connection with the fodder scam.

He has been convicted in four fodder scam cases since 2013 -- the latest being the Dumka treasury case in which a special CBI court sentenced him to 14 years in jail.

 

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Mysuru  (PTI): JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Friday hit out at the ruling Congress in Karnataka for leveling allegations against him in connection with a land denotification in Bengaluru, and claimed that he had no role in it.

He also claimed that the investigations into the case have found no illegality but, aimed at targeting him, the case has been "kept open."

The Congress on Thursday asked the Lokayukta to expedite its probe against former Chief Ministers B S Yediyurappa and Kumaraswamy in connection with the alleged denotification of land here.

Ministers Krishna Byre Gowda, Dinesh Gundu Rao and Santhosh Lad had held a joint press conference and released documents regarding the denotification of 1.11 acres of land at Gangenahalli in Kasaba hobli of Bengaluru North.

"....I'm not running away, I need not take protection under someone else's name, on issues concerning me... the only relationship with that property is, it is related to my wife's mother, I'm not denying it. Have I done the denotification?" Kumaraswamy told reporters.

Stating that he was under the impression that Krishna Byre Gowda was "intelligent as he has studied abroad," while he had studied at a school in Haradanahalli in Hassan, Kumaraswamy said in 2015 Siddaramaiah, "through" a person named Jaya Kumar Patil, had filed a case against him in this cases in which Yediyurappa is accused number 1 (A1) and he is accused number 2 (A2).

"For the last three months they have been struggling to do something (against me).....in 2015 this case was filed with Lokayukta. TIll 2018 Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister, what was he doing without getting investigated?" he said, adding that after he made allegations against the Siddaramaiah government in connection with CSR funds and transfer related issues, they started looking for "means to tackle him."

Alleging that a 'benami' named Rajashekharaiah, "who has nothing to do with the said land (that was notified)", gave a petition when Kumaraswamy was the Chief Minister in 2007, seeking denotification of the land, which was acquired 30 years ago, Krishna Byre Gowda has alleged Kumaraswamy had then asked officials to move the file in this regard.

He has said, the original owner of the said land had 21 heirs, who gave a general power of attorney to Kumaraswamy’s mother-in-law.

Further pointing out that when Yediyurappa was the CM in 2010, despite the then principal secretary to the urban development department K Jothiramalingam noting on the file that it was not a fit case for denotification, the former ordered denotification, Gowda claimed. "Subsequently after the denotification of the land in June, 2010, it was registered in the name of Kumaraswamy’s brother-in-law Channappa in July that year."

Citing the documents, Kumaraswamy asked, "what is there in it? Have I denotified (the land)? or have I prepared the grounds for denotification? What is my role in it?"

Accusing Krishna Byre Gowda of leveling allegations against him to "appease someone", he said: "no one can shake me...I will not discuss such things....get it investigated in whatever way you want."

Questioning as to what evidence was there to prove that he had asked officials to denotify, the former CM rubbished the allegation that Yediyurappa subsequently did the denotification to benefit him, and pointed out that "everyone knows that there was a fight between both of us then. Will Yediyurappa do something in favour of me?"

So far in his political life he has not sought favour or protection from anyone, he said, "I have said that if anyone one brings out even a single minor mistake of his while in power twice, he will not remain in politics for five seconds."

Accepting that the denotification had happened during Yediyurappa's tenure and that his in-laws brought the property, Kumaraswamy asked as to what was his role in it or was it done illegally?

Already inquiries have happened on all these and the investigators in their report had come to the conclusion that it was a legal transaction, he said. "But, to target me, the probe was not closed and was kept open. Their aim is to target Kumaraswamy, and they are looking for all possible things to target me."