PATNA: A week after his expulsion from RJD and family, RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s eldest son and MLA Tej Pratap Yadav, broke his silence, accusing some power-hungry party leaders of conspiring against him.
In an emotional message on social media on Sunday, he also compared some party leaders, apparently close to former deputy chief minister and his younger brother Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, with ‘Jaichand’ (a slur for a traitor).
However, he expressed deep love and affection for his parents, Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi. His emotional message triggered a row within the RJD, the main opposition party in Bihar, ahead of the assembly elections scheduled for October-November.
In his post on ‘X’, Tej Pratap wrote, “My dear Mom and Dad, the whole world is just you. You and any order given by you are greater than God. I have everything if you are there. I need only your trust and love and nothing else. Papa, if you were not there, this party would not have been there, and neither would greedy people like Jaichand who do politics with me. Just mummy papa, may you both always be healthy and happy."
On May 27 (two days after his expulsion), Tej Pratap had posted a comment on ‘X’ after his younger brother and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav was blessed with a son. “With the infinite grace and blessings of Shri Banke Bihari Ji, I am fortunate to become ‘bade papa’ following the arrival of the newborn baby (the birth of a son). Hearty congratulations and best wishes to younger brother Tejaswi Prasad Yadav and Raj Shri Yadav. My affectionate blessings and love to the nephew,” he remarked.
Lalu had expelled Tej Pratap from RJD for six years, and also from the family on May 25 after a controversial Facebook post allegedly made from Tej Pratap's account. On Facebook, he revealed his 12-year romantic relationship with Anushka Yadav. However, Tej Pratap denied that he posted any such thing on social media, claiming his account was hacked and the images were doctored to tarnish his reputation.
He commented on 'X', “My social media platforms have been hacked, and my pictures are being wrongly edited to harass and defame me and my family members. I appeal to my well-wishers and followers to be cautious and not pay heed to any rumours.”
Reacting to the development, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had said, “We can’t tolerate such things. If it is about my elder brother, political life and personal life are different. He has the right to make his personal decisions.”
The family dispute brought RJD’s first family into controversy after Aishwarya Rai’s episode. Aishwarya, estranged wife of Tej Pratap, had alleged torture and harassment by Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti and other members of Lalu Prasad’s family and also complained.
A divorce petition was also filed in the court, which is still pending. Aishwarya, daughter of former MLA Chandrika Rai and granddaughter of former chief minister Daroga Prasad Rai, had demanded maintenance by Tej Pratap and his family.
This is the second time that Tej Pratap has been expelled from the RJD. He was removed after a heated argument with RJD state president Jagadanand Singh over the nomination of office bearers of Chhatra Rashtriya Janata Dal (students’ wing of RJD).