Modi, Shah want to destroy me; I'll shatter their arrogance, dream: Lalu Yadav

PATNA: Hours after his CBI raided his premises and filed criminal conspiracy case against him on Friday, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has claimed action against him to be a result of ‘political vendetta’ by the BJP. "Listen, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah...I may be hanged but before that I will uproot you and smash your arrogance to smithereens. You are trying to incite conflict in the grand alliance. We and people of Bihar understand this," a combative lalu asserted at a hurriedly called press conference in Patna, hinting at the underlying tensions in the ruling alliance. "We have decided to uproot and finish the BJP. This case has nothing to do with out grand alliance...it is intact," he asserted. The RJD leader blamed PM Modi, Amit Shah and the RSS for conspiring against him because the government wanted him to surrender before them. "This is a conspiracy against me and my family. Modi is going towards dictatorship." He said the raids were because he had initiated a political movement against the BJP. "On August 27, we are holding rallies in Bihar to tell the people how myself and my family are being attacked due to political vendetta," Lalu Prasad told the press in Ranchi. The case relates to alleged manipulation in award of contract for maintenance of two hotels run by a subsidiary of the Indian Railways--IRCTC-- when the RJD chief was railway minister in the UPA government. Rebuffing charges that he favoured Sujata Hotels through IRCTC while he was the Railway Minister, Lalu said the decision on handeling over hotels was taken before I took over as Railway minister in 2004. He claimed the contracts for maintenance of the hotels were awarded on the basis of "open bidding" and no irregularities took place. Lalu also criticised the CBI's action of naming his wife Rabri Devi, a former chief minister, and son Tejashwi, the current deputy chief minister, as accused in the case. He said when the alleged irregularities took place, Rabri was not a public servant and Tejashwi was a minor. Lalu Prasad dismissed the allegations saying the railway's catering service is an autonomous body and "not a single file from it comes to the Railways Minister". "I dare anybody to show that there was one file, one approval, which I gave as the Railways Minister. In 2006, some hotels were given to private parties through open tender to the highest bidder."