Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi are hoping for some divine intervention. Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi are hoping for some divine intervention.

There was a time he would exhort his supporters to burn religious scriptures to promote social justice. But Lalu Prasad has changed with the times, and now the scam-tainted politician believes only self-styled godmen can get him exonerated.Ahead of the verdict in the fodder scam, in which Lalu is accused of having embezzled funds to the tune of Rs 35 crore, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president on Friday visited the ashram of 'tantrik' Vibhuti Narayan aka Pagla Baba in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur district to seek his intervention in the turn of events.And though his visits to the god-man, frequent by his own admission, are otherwise a rather personal affair, this time around the entire media was in attendance as he performed elaborate rituals to invoke divinity, all at Pagla Baba's behest."(Earlier) I would ask media-persons not to follow me when I came here," Lalu said at the end of the ceremony. "But this time, Baba himself asked me to invite them," he added.The former Chief Minister also talked about his immense respect for Pagla Baba. "No matter what others say, he is definitely a Lord Shiva incarnate," he said. "He knows of all the attacks on me. He has assured me that nothing untoward would happen to me," Lalu added.As part of the rituals, Lalu performed a more than two-hour long puja, and asked wife Rabri Devi to seek baba's blessings.The baba said Lalu has been coming to him for many years, and that he had taken the politician under his wings. The puja, he added, was to make Lalu stronger.Lalu's visit to Pagla Baba comes at a time when a special CBI court in Jharkhand is likely to soon announce the verdict in the fodder case. The decision will come after the Supreme Court takes a decision on Lalu's plea to have the judge hearing the case changed.The judge at present is a relative of Bihar Education Minister P.K. Shahi, a leader of the RJD's rival JD(U).