Clear political vendetta against me and my family: Lalu Prasad Yadav on CBI raids

New Delhi: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav sought to defend himself and denied any wrongdoing after the CBI booked him, wife Rabri Devi and son Tejaswi Yadav in a 2006 corruption case while he was the minister. “They want me to bow down to the RSS and BJP. They want me to surrender. I will not break down by what the BJP is doing. It is being done to defame me. They want to isolate all parties and want to rule. This is a political vendetta against me and my family by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah,” Lalu said in a news conference. “I took over as Rail Minister in 2004. All the paperwork handover was done before that under the NDA rule,” he added saying he will co-operate with the CBI. Lalu further said he will visit Patna to learn about what papers have the CBI procured in the raids. Earlier during the day, scores of sleuths from the CBI carried out raids at least a dozen locations, including the residences of Lalu Prasad and his family members in Delhi, Gurugram, Patna, Ranchi and Bhubaneswar. CBI Additional Director Rakesh Asthana said Lalu Prasad had allegedly granted illegal favours to Sujata Hotels through the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) when he was the Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009. Asthana said the private company was favoured and the tender process for the development, maintenance and operation of the hotels in Ranchi and Puri was manipulated in exchange for a three-acre land plot in Patna where a mall is being built. "When Lalu Prasad was the Railway Minister, the tender of BNR Hotels of the railways was given to Sujata Hotels," he said. "Three acres of land in western Patna was transferred by Delight Marketing Company Pvt Ltd that is known to the Yadav family," he said, and added that between 2010 and 2014, this land was transferred to another company owned by the Yadav family's Lara Projects at a very low cost. "Transfer took place at a low price. The land was valued at Rs 32 crore as per the circle rates and the market rate was Rs 94 crore at the time. It was transferred to Lara Projects at nearly Rs 65 lakh," said Asthana. He said the case was registered on July 5 under sections 420, 120 B of the Indian Penal Code and sections 13 and 13 1 B of Prevention of Corruption act. Also named in the case are former IRCTC Managing Director P.K. Goyal and the wife of Lalu's confidante Prem Chand Gupta. (With additional information from Agencies)