I am not afraid, will fight fascist forces: Lalu after IT raids

Patna, May 16 (IANS) RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday said he is not afraid and will not bow before any one and fight "fascist forces" till his last breath, after the Income Tax Department conducted raids in connection with alleged "benami" property deals involving him and his family.

In a series of tweets, Lalu sent out a strong message that he is not upset or defensive, but is as aggressive as ever.

"Main jhukne aur darnewaalaa nahi hun (I will not bow or be afraid)," he wrote. He said "Beware egoist and fascist BJP leaders. Before threatening Lalu, look at your face in the mirror. There are millions of thousands of Lalus in Bihar."

Lalu congratulated the BJP for its "new alliance partner" without naming it. "BJP ko naye alliance partner mubarak ho" -- leading to speculation whether he meant his major ally and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is also Janata Dal-United president.

But RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha told newspersons here that Lalu meant the IT department as the BJP's new alliance partner.

Sensing political trouble for Bihar's ruling Grand Alliance of JD-U, RJD and Congress due to his tweet, Lalu soon made it clear in his next tweet that the Grand Alliance is unbreakable and united. "Gathbandhan atut hai, abhi to samaan vichardhara ke aur dalon ko sath jodna hai (Now the process is on to bring together parties with similar views)."

Lalu said he is never afraid of the BJP's government machinery and its agencies.

He also targeted BJP and RSS, saying they are trying to pressurise him knowing that he will expose their "lies, loot and jumlas".

Challenging the Centre to reveal the names of the 22 places raided, he said: "At least tell which 22 places were raided, you illiterates. Lalu is not scared of BJP-backed media and government puppets."

Lalu said the BJP lacks courage to suppress his voice and if they try to do so, then million more Lalus will emerge all across India.