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Lalu expels son Tej Pratap Yadav from RJD over lack of conformity to values
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Sunday expelled his son and former Bihar minister, Tej Pratap Yadav
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Sunday expelled his son and former Bihar minister, Tej Pratap Yadav, from the party for six years over irresponsible behaviour and failing to conform to probity and family values.
The move came a day after the former minister posted a woman’s pictures on social media, claiming he was in a relationship with her for 12 years.
Tej Pratap Yadav, 37, a Bihar assembly member, married Aishwariya Rai in 2018. Their divorce case is pending before a court. The former minister, known to be mercurial and for off-the-cuff statements, deleted the pictures he shared on X, claiming his account was hacked. “...pictures had been edited in a wrong manner to harass and defame me and my family...I caution my followers to remain alert and not get influenced by any rumours.”
The expulsion is seen as part of RJD’s attempt to counter criticism from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) ahead of the assembly polls due later this year.
In a post on X, the RJD chief said that disregard for moral values weakens the social justice struggle. “My elder son’s activities, public conduct, and irresponsible behaviour are not in conformity with our family’s values and culture. ...I distance my son from the party and my family. From now on, he would have no association with our party and family.”
Tej Pratap Yadav has courted controversies, including through his diatribes against state RJD chief Jagdanand Singh, a loyalist of the party chief and mentor of his brother, Tejashwi Yadav. He has expressed reservations over Tejashwi Yadav’s primacy in the party.
Tejashwi Yadav maintained that indiscipline cannot be tolerated. “We work for the state. Private and public life are different. Tej Pratap is independent to take his calls. He is an adult and can make his own decisions. Our party chief has decided, and we do not raise any questions.”
RJD chief spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav said the party is committed to the principles and ideology of social justice. “ The decision taken by our party president only indicates how our party does not allow any irresponsible and indisciplined behaviour by any party leader or cadre.”
BJP leader Nikhil Anand said Tej Pratap Yadav should have made it public before getting married. “He should seek an apology for this behaviour from the family of Aishwarya Rai,” he said, referring to Tej Pratap Yadav’s estranged wife.
Tej Pratap’s expulsion came as he is believed to have been hoping for more prominence in the party after floating Dharmanirpeksha (Secular) Sevak Sangh to counter the BJP’s ideological fount, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Lalu Prasad Yadav’s brothers-in-laws Anirudh Prasad Yadav alias Sadhu Yadav and Subhash Yadav, both former MPs, left the party following differences with the former railway minister and former chief minister Rabri Devi.
The RJD lost power in 2005 and later returned to power as part of the grand alliance from 2015 to 2017, as well as during the alliance’s stint in power from August 2022 to January 2024.
