Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who flagged off Rajasthan's first Vande Bharat Express train on Wednesday, in a veiled attack on former Chief Minister of Bihar Lalu Yadav, pointed out how jobs were given in exchange for lands.
"It was the country's misfortune that a crucial department like railways, which plays a major role in the life of a common man, was also made an arena of politics... The condition was that there was politics in railway recruitment. By snatching the land of poor people, they were given a job in the railways," he said.
What is land for job scam?
Notably, PM Modi was referring to the scam wherein it was alleged that jobs were given in Indian Railways in exchange for land.
According to CBI, the 74-year-old leader had issued several key projects to Delhi Land & Finance (DLF)-- a commercial real estate developer-- when he was heading the Railway ministry in the UPA-1 government. Besides, it was also alleged that thousands of jobs were given in exchange for land.
Earlier in 2021, the Central Bureau of Investigation had closed the case against Yadav and his family members after it found "no concrete evidence that could prove the allegations".
However, in December last year, CBI again reopened the corruption cases against the former chief minister. According to the charge sheet, the Yadav was allegedly involved in providing jobs in lieu of land when he was the railway minister.
