Patna, Aug. 29: Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan today asserted that the NDA government at the Centre had nothing to do with the income-tax questioning of Lalu Prasad's family members in connection with alleged benami property.

Paswan, the food and consumer affairs minister who was in Patna today, said: "Income-tax, enforcement directorate (ED) and CBI raids at Lalu's family members' premises have nothing to do with the NDA government. The law is taking its course."

The central minister scoffed at the RJD chief's claim that all his properties are in the public domain, saying people didn't know that Lalu's family members had assets that included a farmhouse in Delhi and several flats in Delhi and Patna.

Central agencies such as the ED and I-T claim to have detected over Rs 1,000 crore benami (proxy) assets belonging to Lalu and his relatives. The ED had earlier conducted raids at three places - Ghitorani, Sainik Farms and Bijwasan - belonging to Lalu's elder daughter Misa Bharti.

Paswan, the LJP chief, also lashed out at Lalu for organising the Sunday rally at a time when Bihar was reeling from floods. "The rally was held merely to conceal the list of the benami property owned by Lalu's family members and had nothing to do with the welfare of Bihar," Paswan said.

The LJP chief cited a report in The Telegraph to say that the RJD was euphoric about the rally but at the same time they were worried over poor attendance by non-Yadavs. Without naming any caste grouping, Paswan said: "People from only one particular caste participated in the rally. There was little representation from Dalits, EBC and other backward castes."