Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tej Pratap Yadav on Sunday stormed out of the party’s national executive meeting in Delhi and accused a colleague of abusing him as well as his sister, ANI reported.
The elder son of Lalu Prasad Yadav lashed out at Rashtriya Janata Dal National General Secretary Shyam Rajak, saying he is an agent of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
“Shyam Rajak abused me, my personal assistant and my sister today when I asked him about the meeting schedule,” Tej Pratap Yadav told reporters. “I have an audio recording and I will put it on my social media. Such BJP-RSS people should be thrown out of the organisation.”
He also claimed that Rajak was unhappy about not becoming a minister in the newly formed Grand Alliance government in Bihar.
Asked about the charges, Rajak said a powerful person has the right to say whatever he likes, but that he is a Dalit. “I cannot say anything,” he added. “A Dalit is a bonded labourer.”
He also quoted a couplet that loosely translates to “the rich and influential are never at fault”, according to PTI.
Notably, the development came at a time when Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Bihar unit president Jagdanand Singh skipped the national executive meeting amid speculation about an internal rift in the party. His son Sudhakar Singh became the second Cabinet minister to exit the Janata Dal (United)-Rashtriya Janata Dal-led Grand Alliance government on October 2 reportedly over differences with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Sudhakar Singh, however, attended the meeting that was addressed by party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, his son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, and veteran leader Sharad Yadav.
At the meeting, Tejashwi Yadav said the Rashtriya Janata Dal is fighting a battle for the 2024 general elections and there should be no attempt to dilute its agenda of defeating the BJP.
“It is not a question of my choice and your choice but a question of choice to save the country and democracy,” he added. “Together we will defeat the forces that want to divide the country.”
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