Face the music

A special court has found the former chief minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad, guilty in the notorious fodder scam case. This is a big blow to the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the former politician’s career. It will change the political scenario of Bihar to a great extent (“Verdict that can re-engineer political and social equations”, Oct 1). Prasad was was found guilty of corruption, criminal conspiracy and cheating in the 17-year-old fodder scam case. According to the established norms of a recent judgment delivered by the Supreme Court, he stands disqualified from Parliament and is ineligible for contesting elections for at least six years. The Centre has been lambasted by various critics for allegedly attempting to protect convicted ministers by trying to introduce a controversial ordinance that negated the verdict of the apex court. The fodder scam involved the siphoning of funds from the Chaibasa treasury (which is now in Jharkhand) during Prasad’s tenure as the chief minister of Bihar in the 1990s. The theft spanned several years, and many state government administrators and officials were involved in it. This verdict will send out a strong warning to corrupt politicians of the entire country. K.A. Solaman,  Kerala The Telegraph, Kolkata Oct 4, 2013