Tej Pratap Yadav accused of misogyny for remarks against CM Nitish Kumar & Dy CM Sushil Kumar Modi

 The BJP on Thursday accused RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav of misogyny for his remark berating Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi at a rally against CAA, NPR and NRC near here.

Yadav, who is the elder son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, put his foot in the mouth at the rally where he allegedly flayed the JD(U), which is headed by Kumar and BJP, to which Sushil Kumar Modi belongs, for the dramatic realignment of the two parties in July, 2017. Kumar had then abruptly cut his ties with the Grand Alliance partners - the RJD and Congress and returned to the NDA. The RJD rally was held at Masaurhi in rural Patna late on Wednesday night and video clips of it were beamed by local TV news channels.

Kumar had contested the 2015 assembly polls as the chief ministerial candidate of the Grand Alliance but took the drastic step after months of controversy that plagued his government over Yadavs younger brother Tejashwi, who was then the deputy chief minister. Tejashwi's name had cropped up in a money laundering case.Yadav, who was himself a member of the Grand Alliance cabinet, claimed that the JD(U) and BJP were scared of his father, who is now in Ranchi serving sentences in fodder scam cases.

The overnight drama that culminated in the realignment of the JD(U) and the BJP and the RJD being stripped of power was a fallout of that fear. I, therefore, say, Nitish Kumar whom my father had aptly named palturam (turncoat), can also be called Nitish Kumari. And his companion Sushil Kumar Modi, the bearer of the saffron flag, should similarly be called Sushil Kumari Modi.

They cannot take us head-on ... they sit in their homes wearing bangles, Yadav jeered before the crowds. BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand came out with an angry statement in response demanding an apology from the RJD leader. He reminded Yadav of the allegations of domestic violence that his estranged wife has leveled against him.

Was Tej Pratap trying to say that those whose names are suffixed with Kumari and who wear bangles deserve no respect? His tasteless remarks and the applause these received from his supporters are proof that misogyny runs deep in the RJD, Anand said. His misogynistic remarks lend credence to the charges his wife has leveled against him. However, he must apologize to the CM and the deputy CM. If he is trying to emulate his uncouth father, he must beware he may similarly land in jail one day, the BJP spokesman said.

Yadav had tied the knot with Aishwarya Roy, daughter of RJD MLA Chandrika Roy, in May, 2018 but filed a divorce petition six months later. Two months ago, his wife who had chosen to stay back at the residence of her mother-in-law Rabri Devi in a bid to salvage her marriage filed a police complaint accusing the mother and the son besides eldest sister-in-law Misa Bharti of domestic violence. RJD national vice-president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, a founding member of the party and an old associate of Prasad, also expressed his disapproval when asked about the young leaders remark.

This is not right. In politics, there must not be any place for derogatory remarks. People get carried away and end up with egg on their face, only to repent later, the former union minister said. JD(U) spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said, What can one say about a remark of such low level, in such poor taste, that it has left a veteran leader of the very same party embarrassed.

Image Credit: PTI