In another potential embarrassment for Nitish that snubbed former ally BJP promptly latched on to, deputy CM and Lalu’s younger son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav was seen in a video clip presiding over a meeting of the road construction department in the presence of a party worker identified as Sanjay Yadav.
BJP Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi, a former deputy CM, wondered aloud if Tej Pratap getting his sister Misa Bharti’s husband on board would become the norm under the JD(U)-RJD-Congress coalition.
“In elder son’s (Tej Pratap) meeting, his brother-in-law, and in younger son’s (Tejashwi) meeting, a party worker!” Sushil Modi said, alluding to Lalu before turning the heat on the CM. “Why, Nitish ji, has a son-in-law and a party worker been permitted to sit at official review meetings?”
BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand labelled RJD, which has 17 ministers in the 33-member cabinet, “basically a family party”. “Whatever has happened should not surprise anyone as RJD’s politics of caste, religious appeasement and all the drama over ideological talks are only meant to further the interest of the family,” he said.
Stung to the quick, RJD tweeted a few pictures showing Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey with his son and former minister and BJP MLA Nitin Nabin with his wife at supposedly official engagements.
JD(U) minister Ashok Chaudhary sprung to the defence of siblings Tejashwi and Tej Pratap. “It is not a big incident.” Chaudhary slipped in a piece of advice for Lalu’s son-in-law. “Shailesh ji should have been cautious.”