Former Jharkhand Chief Minister, now a Tihar Jail inmate, has maintained a hundred per cent attendance record in parliament's Monsoon session. Reason, he finds prison food unpalatable

Madhu Koda's day out

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister, now a Tihar Jail inmate, has maintained a hundred per cent attendance record in parliament's Monsoon session. Reason, he finds prison food unpalatable

Guess who is desperately praying against adjournments during the Monsoon session of Parliament? No, it's

neither the Lok Sabha Speaker nor any member of the ruling party, but an independent MP from Jharkhand.

And Koda hasn't missed a single day. The reasons are more gastronomic than political. Though Koda is now in Tihar Jail from where he is taken to Parliament everyday, he tries to avoid any meals involving prison food. "I take my breakfast, lunch and dinner in Parliament House premises only. But if Parliament adjourns early, as it happened in the first week, I am forced to get my dinner at Tihar," Koda told MiD DAY.

When this reporter met Koda on Friday evening at the Parliament House lobby, he said that during the weekend, he had no choice but to eat whatever was on offer at Tihar. Reiterating his innocence, Koda didn't hesitate to accept that he ate good food after eight months. "I am a vegetarian," he told MiD DAY.

Ironically, Koda, who is facing charges of amassing assets 400 per cent more than his known sources of income, takes Rs 50-100 from his assistant to pay for the food at Parliament. "As he is not allowed to carry any cash in jail, he takes the money as and when needed from me. It is his money," said one of his assistants.

Koda laments the fact that no one is standing with him now, including his friends from the good old days. "I feel the difference in the behaviour of people. Even the media is not supporting me. Till now there is not an iota of evidence against me," he said.

Koda, who participated in Lok Sabha debates twice - on the issue of price rise and on the grant of Jharkhand budget - has also submitted a notice for consideration of the Lok Sabha Speaker for declaring Jharkhand a drought-hit state. "I will keep raising the problems of the people of Jharkhand in Lok Sabha," Koda said.

When asked if he had met Guruji (Shibu Soren) in Parliament, he said he had conveyed his namaskar to him, nothing more.

Koda is taken to Parliament House from Tihar in jail's van under heavy security. He is handed over to Parliament security guards by Delhi police personnel at the entrance gate. The security personnel at Parliament accompany him wherever he goes within the premises. They also keep an eye on him when he attends the House proceedings.

"Court has allowed him to come in an Ambassador car. That will happen on Monday," said Pawan Kumar Sharma, his personal assistant. Koda had called up Sharma to assist him while coming to Delhi.

What's cooking?
The Tihar Administration provides 3 meals a day to every prisoner. 400 grams of flour, 250 grams of vegetable and 90 grams of pulse have been fixed as the daily quota for each inmate. Apart from this tea is served to them twice a day.
"Chapatti, pulse and vegetables are the main dishes we serve. The pulses and vegetable items are changed on a daily basis. Kheer is also provided on Tuesdays and Saturdays to the prisoners. In the morning slices of bread and potato curry is served," confirmed Sunil Gupta, PRO of Tihar Jail.

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