Tej Pratap says no rift with Tejashwi

The sibling rivalry within Lalu Prasad's family is now out in the open.

The elder son Tej Pratap, who on Saturday expressed his annoyance over being sidelined in the party, on Sunday clarified that there were no differences with his younger brother and heir apparent to the RJD Tejashwi Yadav.

"Although attempts are being made by people with vested interests within the RJD to drive a wedge between Tejashwi and me," said Tej, who was recently married to Aishwarya Rai, daughter of senior RJD MLA Chandrika Rai.

A deeply religious person, Tej Pratap drew an analogy from the Mahabharat and even hinted at taking sanyas.

"I am of the opinion that once I help Arjun (Tejashwi) get the Hastinapur throne, I, like Lord Krishna, would leave for Dwarka," Tej tweeted in Hindi, reiterating the analogy he had used at Lalu's rally last year when he said he would help Arjun (Tejashwi) becomes the Bihar chief minister, while he would play the role of Lord Krishna.

Tej, who was the health and environment minister in the Nitish Cabinet till July last year, was reported to be sulking for being sidelined at a time his younger brother was making national headlines.

"Tejashwi is like my 'jigar ka tukda' (part of my heart). But what I can I do when no one listens to me even in the RJD? When I asked to appoint a student leader, Rajendra Paswan, a Dalit, to a particular post, I was told that 'there are orders from top not to do so'. When I narrated this to my wife, she was shocked. She asked me not to let things go out of hand," said Tej Pratap.

Eventually, his mother and former chief minister Rabri Devi pacified her elder son and Rajendra Paswan, who is Tej's aide, got the recommended post.

Though the miffed son later said all was well within the family, the development shows a sign of history repeating itself in Lalu's family.

Lalu's two infamous brothers-in-law Sadhu Yadav and Subhash Yadav, through their internecine war, had brought much disrepute to the RJD, as well as Lalu’s family, a decade ago. So much so that Lalu had to eventually sever all ties with both of them.