The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday questioned former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad for 10 hours in a money-laundering case linked to the land-for-jobs scam, amid intense protests by party workers who alleged misuse of central agencies ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

According to people aware of the details, Lalu appeared at the ED office in Patna at 11.10am along with his daughter and Rajya Sabha MP, Misa Bharti. They left the premises at 9.05pm.

Lalu’s son and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav has also been summoned by ED on Tuesday.

“This is not a new thing. This greeting card is being sent to those who are not coming with them,” Bharti told reporters as she hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre over the ED summons issued to her father on January 19.

“Whenever any agency calls our family, we go there and cooperate with them and answer their questions. Not just our family, but they are sending summons to all those who are in the Opposition,” she added.

READ | Land for jobs case: Lalu Prasad Yadav appears before ED for questioning in Patna

The land-for-jobs scam pertains to appointments in the Railways allegedly in return of land parcels for Lalu’s family between 2004 and 2009, when he was the Union railways minister.

ED is conducting a probe on the basis of a first information report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). On January 9, the federal agency, which said it has found proceeds of crime worth ₹600 crore, filed its first charge sheet in the case, naming Lalu’s wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and their daughters, Misa and Hema Yadav, among seven accused.

In October 2022, CBI filed its charge sheet against Lalu, Devi, Misa and 13 others in the case. In March last year, a Delhi court granted bail to Lalu, Rabri, Misa and others in CBI’s case.

Misa expressed concerns over her father’s health and said she feared that probe agencies might arrest him. “But what will they get by arresting a seriously-ill person?” she said.

READ | ‘Sher akela hai’: Lalu’s daughter slams RJD chief’s questioning by ED

“Somebody feeds him (Lalu). We do not know if he was able to eat anything during the long questioning and how many questions ED had for him. No ED official is ready to say anything. The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is afraid as the elections are near and he would keep doing such things,” she added.

Another daughter of Lalu, Rohini Acharya, said despite repeated requests by Bharti, ED officials did not allow any assistant of the RJD chief to enter the central agency’s office and accompany him.

Outside the ED office, RJD workers and supporters gathered in large numbers and chanted slogans that hailed the party chief and criticised the BJP. More than 15 MLAs, MLCs and former state and Union ministers also joined the protests, leading to the deployment of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Bihar Special Auxiliary Police at the premises, the people cited above said.

RJD leader Manoj Jha said the actions of central agencies will go on till the next general elections are concluded. “This is not an ED summons, but a BJP summons… This will go on till 2024, till then please do not call it ED summons… Why should we be scared?” he told ANI.

The BJP dismissed RJD’s claims. “Lalu’s family is involved in corruption and is attacking the central government to divert people’s attention from the case. The main objective of the Centre is to ensure that no corrupt person is spared and no innocent should be punished,” BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said.