A fresh power tussle has erupted in the Lalu Prasad family as his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav on Saturday alleged that some people who are dreaming to become the national president of the RJD, have held former Bihar chief minister and RJD president Lalu Prasad hostage in Delhi. This, many believe, was a veiled attack on Lalu Yadav’s younger son and Tej Pratap’s brother Tejashwi Yadav.
“Months back my father Lalu Prasad was released from jail but he is not allowed to come to Patna. He has been kept as a hostage in Delhi. There are four to five people who are dreaming to become national president of the party,” said Tej Pratap Yadav.
Tej Pratap who is also MLA said that if the situation continues like this then party organisation will not grow, rather it will collapse.
He is currently fighting a succession battle with his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav said this during a programme of Chhatra Janshakti Parishad, the outfit he floated last month to keep his politics floating as he has been sidelined within the party. This outfit is parallel to Chhatra RJD which is the students’ wing of the RJD.
Without naming his younger brother and Bihar RJD president Jagdanand Singh, he said that people know who the people are who have kept his father hostage. In August Tej Pratap had also a fight with Jagdanand Singh after the latter removed Akash Yadav as state president of youth wing of the party.
Convicted in fodder scam cases, Jharkhand High Court granted bail to Lalu Prasad in April this year on the health ground. A close aide of Lalu Prasad told OpIndia that Lalu Prasad is staying with his wife Rabri Devi and daughter Misa Bharti.
Tejashwi Yadav who virtually ran the party during absence of his father has emerged as the political heir of Lalu Prasad. The ailing Lalu Prasad has nearly distanced himself from political activities for various reasons. His term as national president of the RJD is also stated to end in November this year.
He is facing trial in yet another infamous fodder scam case RC 47 A/96 related to illegal withdrawal of worth Rs 139.35 crore from Doranda treasury of Ranchi in 1995-96.
In the context of the above the succession battle has intensified once again. “My father is not keeping well. I don’t want to put any pressure on him. He is suffering from various diseases. I asked my father to stay with me in Patna and see how the organization is running. There was a time when the gate of our house remained open for people and Lalu Prasad used to hold meetings. But, these four or five people made the provision of rope barricading so that people stay away from him,” Tej Pratap said.
Often referred as maverick and mercuric Tej Pratap always alleged that a negative perception was created against him and he was deliberately kept away from his father. “Some people are forcibly keeping Laluji away from me. They are also feeding wrong information about me,” he charged.
Tejashwi later on countered allegation of his elder brother stating that a man who remained chief minister of Bihar for such a long time can’t be kept as hostage.
Lalu Ji had been CM of Bihar for a long time. He even got LK Advani arrested. These things don’t match with his stature: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on his brother Tej Pratap Yadav’s statement that his father is held hostage in Delhi pic.twitter.com/MKxSUv16UJ
— ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2021
Mentioning that Lalu Yadav even got L K Advani arrested (during the Rath Yatra during Ram Janmabhoomi movement), Tejashwi Yavad said ‘these things’ (holding him hostage) don’t match with his stature.
