Patna, Mar 11 (IANS): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Saturday that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on the premises of former Union Railway minister Lalu Prasad and his associates was a result of him being a part of the Mahagathbandhan in the state.

"The raids did not happen for five years from 2017. Why are they happening now? The simple reason is I am a part of the Mahagathbandhan. Such raids would not intimidate us and our government will smoothly manage Bihar," Kumar said.

Reacting on changing the alliance again, Nitish Kumar dismissed it as "rumours" saying that Mahagathbandhan is running smoothly in Bihar. "Don't worry and don't listen to rumours," he asserted.

On Friday, ED raided 15 premises of Lalu Prasad, his family members and close associates in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Mumbai, Ranchi and some other places. The ED sleuths had recovered Rs 53 lakh cash, 1.5 kg gold jewellery, 540 gram gold coins, and USD 1900 from the residences of Tejashwi Yadav and his sisters Ragini Yadav, Hema Yadav and Chanda Yadav.