A little over a month after the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) terminated the license of Bihar Health Minister Tej Pratap’s petrol pump in Patna, the pump has been sealed. Pratap, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son, has so far failed to furnish a satisfactory explanation on how he came to acquire the land for the outlet.
The BJP has demanded that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar immediately sack him from the Cabinet.
Following a complaint which alleged that Pratap had wrongfully acquired the property, BPCL had issued a notice to him on 31 May, asking him to report on the matter within 15 days.
BJP leader from Bihar, Sushil Modi, had alleged that Pratap had fraudulently acquired the property. ANI quoted Tej Pratap’s brother, Tejaswi Yadav, as saying:
There has been a degradation in results and we will provide details on the matter soon. Why are such things dealt with only a one sided approach? We too have a word for it and will be providing the facts soon. We will talk on a proper forum, and then the truth will be revealed.
Modi charged Pratap of giving an earth filling contract in the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park to a private company for Rs 90 lakh without a tender, and demanded his ouster from the cabinet.
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