Guards withdrawn, Rabri, sons ‘return’ state security

Jitendra K Shrivastava

Tribune News Service

Patna, April 11

Former Bihar CM Rabri Devi and her two sons, Tejaswi and Tej Pratap Yadav, on Wednesday “returned” their state security cover, protesting withdrawal of guards from her residence here.

The government withdrew 32 personnel of the Bihar Military Police posted at 10 Circular Road — the official residence of Rabri Devi and her husband Lalu Prasad — after the CBI raided the place on Tuesday in connection with a IRCTC hotel tender case.

“After a few hours of questioning, the government withdrew guards from our residence in Patna. If the house guards are withdrawn, we don’t require personal security cover as well,” Rabri said.

“It is a conspiracy being hatched by the BJP to get all members of Lalu’s family killed. But we are not timid. God will save us and people and party workers will protect us on the ground,” she said.

Calling it political vendetta by CM Nitish Kumar and his ally BJP, Rabri’s son Tejaswi Yadav, also the Leader of Opposition, said he and his brother, former Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav, also asked the bodyguards to return to the police headquarters on Wednesday. “Just now at the stroke of midnight, Nitish has called back house guards deployed in the security of the two ex-CMs. Surrendering our security to Nitish ji so that he can increase his own security as he is the most namby-pamby CM of the country,” Tejaswi tweeted.

The former Bihar CM said whatever security guards were allotted to her husband had already been withdrawn when he was sent to jail on December 23, 2017, and remaining security guards were manned as per her capacity as ex-CM.

“Lalu enjoyed Z-category security. Since he was convicted and in jail, no law allows him to be provided such security cover. So, the state government recalled house guards and not security covers being given to leader of Opposition Tejaswi and other members of the family,” said JD-U legislator Sanjay Singh.

(With agency inputs)