PATNA: Senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwary on Sunday defended Bihar Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav and his elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav on sexual harassment charges levelled at them in 2008, saying most men do so at a young age.
“Who is a man who does not look at women and does not engage in such light activities (chuhelbaazi) at a certain age? Why is the hue and cry over it?” asked Tiwary, RJD’s national vice-president and a former Bihar minister. He attacked JD(U) leaders for raking up “a ten-year-old non-issue” to malign the two sons of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.
According to JD(U) leaders, Tejashwi and Tej Pratap were allegedly beaten up by people at three locations in Delhi on January 1, 2008 night for passing indecent comments and harassing girls at New Year’s Day parties.
“Such defence has exposed RJD’s negative attitude towards women. He (Tiwary) has made it known that he thinks it is okay for young men of 19 to sexually harass girls,” said JD(U) spokesperson Sanjay Singh.
BJP state president Nityanand Rai also attacked Tiwary. “He (Tiwary) may have done such acts when he was younger, but it is just not right to defend it,” said Rai.