Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and his family launched an attack on the BJP and Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday over issues that included the destruction of constitutional bodies, demonetisation and the statement to hang the mafia upside down.

“Who is Amit Shah? How will he hang people upside down? Does he remember how he got trapped in a lift in Patna and was left hanging? We will trap him again. He was rescued at that time, but won’t be saved this time,” Lalu told reporters, evoking laughter among his supporters.

Lalu was reacting to the statement Shah made at a public meeting in Paliganj in Patna district last week where he asserted that the mafia in Bihar would be hanged upside down and straightened out. The Union home minister had also announced that a committee to probe land grab cases would be constituted in the state.

Shah had got trapped in a lift at the government guest house in Patna in 2015 after it developed a technical snag. It had to be cut open to rescue him.

On Monday, the RJD chief was accompanying his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi to the Bihar Legislative Assembly premises where she and four other Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) candidates filed their nomination papers for Bihar Legislative Council polls.

Rabri attacked the BJP and its leaders over demonetisation. “The BJP leaders have become wealthy since demonetisation. Amit Shah filled his own house (with riches) and is now threatening others,” Rabri said.

Lalu’s younger son and leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, elder son Tej Pratap Yadav and eldest daughter and Rajya Sabha member Misa Bharti were also present during the nomination.

“You all know about the BJP. There have been continuous attempts to mess with the Constitution. It is trying to hijack the constitutional institutions,” Tejashwi said and extended best wishes to the five Mahagathbandhan candidates for the Legislative Council polls.

Apart from Rabri, three RJD leaders — former minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Syed Faisal Ali, and Urmila Thakur — filed their nomination papers. CPI-ML leader Shashi Yadav, who has been at the forefront of the fight for dignity and better remuneration of government scheme workers, also filed her nomination papers on Monday, the last day to do so.

Three BJP candidates — former minister Mangal Pandey, Lal Mohan Gupta and Anupriya Singh — also filed their nomination papers. Janata Dal United leaders — chief minister Nitish Kumar and Khalid Anwar — have already done so.