Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Sunday expelled his elder son, Tej Pratap Yadav, from both the party and the family, for his ‘irresponsible behaviour’. The decision comes in the wake of a social media controversy that has sparked public outrage and internal discontent within the party.
Lalu Yadav’s strong message
In a strongly worded statement shared on X (formerly), Lalu Prasad wrote, “Ignoring moral values in personal life weakens our collective struggle for social justice. The activities, public conduct and irresponsible behavior of the eldest son are not in accordance with our family values and traditions. Therefore, due to the above circumstances, I remove him from the party and family. From now on, he will not have any role of any kind in the party and family. He is expelled from the party for 6 years.”
“He is capable of seeing the good and bad and merits and demerits of his personal life. All those who will have relations with him should take their own decisions,” he added.
Tej Pratap Yadav has served as Bihar’s Environment Minister in the past and has often been in the headlines for his unconventional behavior and public remarks.
Controversy over social media post
The tipping point appears to have been a controversial Facebook post from Tej Pratap’s verified account, in which he claimed to be in a long-term relationship with a woman named Anushka Yadav. The post, which featured a photograph of the two, read:
“The one seen in this picture is Anushka Yadav. We have been known to each other for the last 12 years. We are in love and have been in a relationship for 12 years.”
The post quickly went viral, prompting backlash from social media users who reminded Tej Pratap of his high-profile marriage in 2018 to Aishwarya Rai, granddaughter of former Bihar CM Daroga Prasad Rai. That marriage soon ended in controversy, with Aishwarya alleging domestic abuse and being driven out of the house.
Amid the uproar, Tej Pratap issued a clarification on X, claiming his Facebook account had been hacked. “My social media platform was hacked and my photographs were edited wrongfully,” he wrote, adding that there was a “conspiracy to defame and harass” him and his family.