RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Friday called the BJP a "party of drunkards" while reacting to the arrest of Ajay Sarawgi, brother of BJP Darbhanga Town MLA Sanjay Sarawgi, for allegedly consuming liquor in a vehicle on Thursday night.

"BJP ke adhikhansh neta piyakkad hai (Most BJP leaders are drunkards)," Lalu said. "Law is equal for everyone and nobody will be spared, be it an MLA's brother or anybody else. Prohibition law is very strict in Bihar and action will be taken as per the law."

Hours later, a local court in Darbhanga granted bail to Ajay.

BJP spokesperson and MLC Vinod Narayan Jha hit back, saying: "The BJP does not take the comment of Lalu Prasad seriously at all because only their (Grand Alliance) leaders are being arrested and caught under the prohibition law. No BJP leader has been arrested till now. What Lalu Prasad has aired is his frustration, and as far as this incident (Ajay's arrest) is concerned, the law applies to everyone. It is a matter of investigation whether Sanjay Sarawgi's brother was drinking or it is a conspiracy."

Excise department officials arrested Ajay from Hasanpur Chowk along with two other people - Darbhanga collectorate clerk Pankaj Kumar and LIC agent Ritesh Kumar Gupta - when they were allegedly drinking on Thursday night.

Darbhanga excise superintendent Dinbandhu said the trio was found drinking in a car. "Three glasses and one plastic bottle was found from the car. Breathalyzers were used and it was found that all three were drunk," the official added.

He said no liquor bottle was found in the car, and that the department would appeal in a higher court against the bail to the trio.

Spirit seized

Officials of excise department on Friday seized 120 litres of spirit from a person belonging to Jaisinghpur village under Turkaulia police station in Motihari during a raid, said excise superintendent Keshav Jha.