Centre has no role in raids conducted against Lalu: Naidu

Stating that it has become a fashion to level false allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by the opposition, Union Information and Technology Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday clarified that the Government has no role in the current raids underway against former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.

"Let me make it very clear that the Government has no role in it. Instead of facing the charges and answering them, making political allegations against the Government and the BJP has become a fashion with some of the opposition parties," Naidu said while addressing a press conference here.

Naidu further said that he hoped people would realize their folly of making false allegations which indirectly hints towards their intentions of covering up their own faults.

"The cases against Lalu Prasad Yadav are not by our Government. They were there earlier also. The law is taking its own course," he said.

Earlier today, BJP leader Sushil Modi came out with the statement that it was the Janata Dal (United) party which first exposed Lalu's Delight Marketing irregularity.

The CBI earlier today conducted searches at 12 locations across Patna, Delhi, Gurgaon and other places in connection with a case linked to a hotel maintenance contract awarded by Lalu Yadav when he was the Railway Minister in 2006.

The CBI is also examining irregularities in awarding tenders to private firms for operating railway hotels located close to stations.

These raids have comes weeks after income-tax department searched locations in New Delhi and adjoining areas in regard with corruption charges against Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti and her husband Shailesh Kumar.

In wake of CBI cases registered against his ally, Nitish Kumar has called senior officials for a meeting in Rajgir.