Agree that Tejashwi will be puppet controlled by coterie: Tej Pratap Yadav

Patna: RJD president Lalu Prasad's estranged elder son Tej Pratap Yadav on Sunday said he agreed with the view that his younger brother Tejashwi, who has been made the party's national working president, will be a "puppet" controlled by a coterie.

Yadav, who floated his own outfit, Janshakti Janata Dal, after being expelled from the RJD, was responding to queries about the decision taken at the party's national executive.

"Now that the party has assigned him a responsibility, he should discharge it well," said Yadav, who, while in the RJD, used to liken himself to Lord Krishna and the younger sibling to Arjuna.

He was asked about a social media post from estranged elder sister Rohini Acharya, who has reacted to the development, saying it marked "an end to the innings of the glorious innings" of his father, the RJD's founding president, whom she did not mention by name but referred to as the "top man in politics (siyaasat ke shikhar purush)".

"Congratulations, upon coronation, to the prince (shahzada) who must remain a puppet in the hands of sycophants and the gang of infiltrators," added Acharya, who has been blaming the RJD's defeat in the recently held Bihar assembly polls on Tejashwi and his close aides Sanjay Yadav and Rameez.

When Tej Pratap was asked about Acharya's post, he replied, "Yes, what she says is right. I shall not comment further upon this matter concerning the RJD as I am no longer in the party."

Notably, Tej Pratap has been insisting upon his expulsion from RJD that he would never return to his father's party and, of late, has been reaching out to senior leaders in the ruling NDA.

The temperamental leader, however, bristled when he was asked about a section of Congress leaders expressing the opinion that it was time to call off the alliance with the RJD.

"Why did it take so long for Congress to come to such a realisation? They are speaking these things after losing the elections, which they fought in an alliance. What was Rahul Gandhi doing, riding motorcycles and enjoying rice and chicken?" he snapped.

The allusion was to bike rallies taken out by Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, during the Voter Adhikar Yatra a few months ago, and a feast hosted by Lalu Prasad some time back, which had led the BJP to slam the alliance partners for enjoying non-vegetarian food in the auspicious month of Shraavan.

Yadav was also asked about a statement by Shakeel Ahmed, a former Union minister who recently quit the Congress, that Gandhi was “darpok (coward)”.

The former Bihar minister shot back, "Of course, he is a coward. Why else is he not visiting the Ram temple at Ayodhya? He thinks only riding a motorcycle will do."