Patna: Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Wednesday said deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi was suffering from the chhapas rog (one obsessed with publication of name in a newspaper), after the BJP leader alleged that even the Sahara Group was used for buy a posh guest house belonging to the Tata group by RJD chief Lalu Prasad's family.

"I have been telling Sushil Modi from the very beginning that it is his government and his police, his investigation agencies," Tejashwi said.

"Why doesn't he put me behind bars? But all this is not related to my assets. Rather, there is an internal tussle going on in his own party that is disturbing him. He is seeing that the party state unit president Nityanand Rai is visiting Assembly constituencies to become a bigger leader. So, he is holding these useless press briefing while sitting in Patna."

He further said: "I still remember how Nitish ji used to taunt him saying he suffered from chhapas rog and the level has increased now because he has no issue to speak on.

"He cannot speak on the achievements of his state government or on the deteriorating law and order condition prevailing in the state. So, the only thing he can do is issue such nonsense statements about my family so that he can get space in the newspaper."

Two days back, Sushil had accused RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family of buying a posh property from the Tata group through a shell company at a "throw-away price".

The property in question is a house on 5 Riding Road near Patna airport, which was provisionally attached by the income-tax department in February.

The building used to be the office and guesthouse of Tata Steel before it was sold to Fairgrow Holdings Pvt Ltd, a company registered in Calcutta, in 2002.

The former deputy chief minister stressed that the " chhapas rog" has reached a serious proportion and there was need for provision of urgent treatment.

Open debate dare

Tejashwi challenged deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi to an open debate instead of him holding a press conference on a daily basis on his family members' assets.

The RJD leader's statement comes a day after Tejashwi's elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav met Sushil Modi at his house and invited him to attend his wedding ceremony, to be solemnised later this month.

"I will ask Modi ji to chose the date, timing and place for the open debate with me. He should have some patience to listen to my answer and not leave in the middle of the debate," Tejashwi said.