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Tej Pratap is not in RJD , says party leader Shivanand Tiwary; then backtracks
Shivanand Tiwary , who is considered to be close to the RJD chief, later told the media that his statement had been wrongly interpreted as he was speaking in the context of Tej Pratap’s recent move to form his own outfit.
A statement by RJD’s national vice president Shivanand Tiwary on Wednesday evening claiming that party chief Lalu Prasad’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav is virtually not in the party has stirred a controversy and given a new twist to the growing sibling rivalry in the RJD’s first family.
The controversy emerged when Tiwary during a presser at Hajipur said that there was no question of expelling Tej Pratap as the elder Yadav scion had himself disassociated from the party.
He was replying to queries about whether the Hassanpur MLA, who in recent days has been aggressive in his attack against younger brother Tejashwi and the party leadership, could face any disciplinary action or expulsion.
“Tej Pratap has made his own outfit and he was also barred from using the lantern symbol when he tried to use it. Tej has himself accepted that he was denied permission to use the lantern symbol for his outfit. So, where is the question of expulsion? Tej Pratap is not in the party as he has himself disassociated from it,” he said.
Tiwary, who is considered to be close to the RJD chief, later told the media that his statement had been wrongly interpreted as he was speaking in the context of Tej Pratap’s recent move to form his own outfit. “Who am I to say Tej Pratap is in the party or not. I had called the presser for a different agenda. I spoke about what Tej Pratap has himself acknowledged-- that he was restricted from using the official symbol of the party for his own organization,” the veteran leader said.
However, the RJD’s national vice president’s statement has added a fresh twist to the growing rivalry between the two brothers in Lalu Yadav’s family and could give more ammunition to the elder Yadav scion to launch a fresh attack against the party’s top leaders including Tejashwi.
Tej Pratap had recently attacked the RJD’s top brass and taken oblique pot-shots at his younger brother by stating that “a handful of people are dreaming of becoming the party’s national president” and had kept the RJD chief ‘hostage’ in New Delhi. However, on Tuesday, Lalu addressed a virtual meeting of party workers, which was seen as an attempt to dispel any misgivings about being kept ‘hostage’ at his elder daughter Misa Bharti’s residence in the national capital.
BJP state spokesperson Nikhil Anand too reacted to the controversy over Tiwary’s statement saying it was indicative of how the siblings of Tejashwi were being side-lined before the younger Yadav scion is crowned the party’s president in the coming days. “The way kings used to side-line their siblings before being crowned in ancient days including in the Mughal Empire, in the same way, siblings of Tejashwi-- Tej Pratap and Misa Bharti are being side-lined. Top leaders who could challenge Tejashwi will also meet the same fate and be shown the door. It was bound to happen,” Anand said, adding that the RJD is an undemocratic organisation and promotes family rule.
