Rabri Devi who has served as the Bihar Chief Minister thrice is facing a CBI raid at her house in Patna. The investigation is being conducted in relation to the land-for-jobs case. Rabri along with her husband and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav and 14 others have been accused in the case
As per reports, a team of CBI reached Rabri Devi’s residence early morning in the absence of her son and Bihar’s Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav who left to take part in the Bihar Legislative Assembly session. Months ago, CBI also conducted searches on properties linked to Tejashwi Yadav in Gurugram, Madhubani and Katihar in relation to the Land-For-Jobs case
Land-For-Jobs scam allegedly took place when Lalu Prasad Yadav served as Union Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009. Lalu, his wife Rabri, and his daughters Misa and Hema Yadav, were allegedly given land plots as bribes by some individuals to be hired by the Railways in 2008-2009, in addition to 12 individuals who were given jobs in the Railway zones of Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hajipur, according to the CBI
Rabri Devi was born in a Bihar village named Salar Kalan. She and her three sisters Jalebi, Rasgulla and Paan were named after a sweet dish, as per their family tradition
Rabri with no prior political experience became Bihar Chief Minister in 1997 after her husband Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was then serving as the state’s CM, was forced to resign following the arrest warrant issued against him in corruption charges relating to the Fodder scam. Rabri held her position until 2005 as she was elected thrice from Raghopur seat
Rabri Devi is the only woman to date to be appointed as Bihar CM. However, her unexpected appointment drew mixed reactions from the political lobby and experts. Her life was reportedly the inspiration behind the web series Maharani starring Huma Qureshi
Rabri Devi’s children Tej Pratap Yadav, Tejashvi Yadav and Misa Bharti also entered into Indian politics. Tejashvi Yadav is currently Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister. Tej Pratap Yadav is the Minister of State (Environment, Forest & Climate Change Department). Misa Bharti, who is a gynaecologist by profession, contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Pataliputra losing to BJP's Ram Kripal Yadav
Bihar is to undergo by-polls on March 31 for five seats. While three of these seats are held by JD(U) members, Saran Teachers' constituency by-poll has been necessitated after the death of CPI MLC Kedar Nath Pandey