Tehelka expose: Lalu urges to arrest Modi

New Delhi, Oct 31: A delegation of RJD MPs and ministers, led by party chief and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and demanded ''immediate arrest'' of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the wake of the Tehelka expose on the alleged complicity of the Gujarat government in the 2002 Godhra riots.

During his ten-minute meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Prasad said the expose by Tehelka made a strong case for filing a case against Mr Modi and all other involved in the related incidents under section 120 (B) and 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). ''The Prime Minister gave a patient listening to the delegation and assured to look into our demand,'' party sources said.

Mr Prasad also said that his party would soon launch an agitation in Bihar on the issue, and nothing would stop him from doing so.

The RJD President also said Mr Modi should be arrested without any delay and ''I am not bothered if he (Modi) has to fight elections from jail.'' ''When I had earlier raised my voice against the Gujarat government on the issue of Godhra riots, the Hindutva forces had accused me of speaking the language of Pakistan. Now the Modi government is being exposed by his own people,'' he said.

Mr Prasad said the entire world had seen the ''misdeeds'' of the Modi government, and the expose had been done not by the Congress or the left parties, but by his own people.

Besides Mr Prasad, the delegation comprised Corporate Affairs Minister Corporate Affairs Minister Premchand Gupta, Water Resources Minister Jaiprakash Yadav, Ministers of State Taslimuddin and Akhilesh Singh and MPs Raghunath Jha and Sadhu Yadav.

UNI