Lalu again under scrutiny over toddler Tej's land bounty

New Delhi: Health minister Tej Pratap Yadav was "gifted" 13 acres of land when he was not yet 4 years old and like other such "gifts" to his family the donor's largesse was prompted by the service extended by Tej Pratap, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar alleged on Tuesday in his latest "exposé" against RJD chief Lalu Prasad and family. Like his other "revelations", Modi brandished what he said were land deed documents to buttress his claim. The BJP leader, however, added that he did not know if Lalu's family still owns the land near Kudhani in Muzaffarpur district. The lady who gifted the land to Tej Pratap is Rama Devi, widow of late RJD minister Brij Bihari Prasad. Brij Bihari was murdered in 1998 when he was being treated at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in police custody. He was then the science and technology minister and had been arrested in connection with a merit scam case. Rama Devi was a minister in the RJD government headed by Lalu's wife, Rabri Devi, but since 2009 is the BJP MP from Sheohar. "Lalu ji should tell people what kind of service did Tej Pratap render to Rama Devi when he was just 3 years and 8 months old due to which the lady gifted such a huge chunk of land to him," Modi said, alleging that it was another case of extracting benefits against favours from persons close to Lalu. The BJP leader also read out a paragraph from the purported gift deed - The Telegraph has not verified the authenticity of the document - which said how Rama Devi had special affection for Lalu's elder son and how Tej Pratap used to take care of Rama's happiness and serve her with all his capacity. "It needs to be found out in what circumstances the land was gifted and why it was accepted. This should be probed. It is an old matter and should be seen if it falls under taxable slab. I know the street next to the road is called 'Lalu road'. I have information of it and will submit it to the election commission," Sushil Kumar Modi told ABP News. Contacted for comment, Rama Devi was candid in her reply. "I was a housewife in 1992," she told The Telegraph. "Saheb (Brij Bihari) asked me to sign some donation documents and I readily put my signatures without looking into the details." Asked if she remembered why her late husband donated land to Lalu's son, the BJP MP said: "He used to say that if this donation would be made, road and electricity connectivity would become available to the whole area and it would become developed." Asked what his problem is if someone gifted property to Lalu's family members, Modi said: "I have no problem but when agencies would probe the matter all these details would be looked into as to how so much of asset was amassed by the family of Lalu ji." Repeated attempts to speak to RJD national spokesperson Manoj Jha proved futile as he was busy in a meeting.