Raj Ballabh Yadav, former MLA of the Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD), on Sunday stirred up a controversy with a disparaging remark against de facto leader Tejashwi Yadav’s wife as news from poll-bound Bihar keeps emerging with the state going into elections in a few months.
The former RJD MLA questioned Tejashwi Yadav’s marriage outside the Yadav community, referring to his wife as a “jersey cattle”.
“Caste is used only for votes. When it came to marriage, where did the marriage take place? What was the need to get the marriage done in Haryana and Punjab? Tejashwi Yadav seeks the votes of Yadavs of Bihar, but he did not deem a girl from the community to be fit to become his wife. Perhaps he was looking for a jersey cattle,” Raj Ballabh Yadav was quoted as saying by the media.
Livemint could not independently verify the authenticity of the video that is making rounds on the social media.
Tejashwi Yadav’s marriage and family
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav got married in 2021 to Rachel Codinho, his batchmate from DPS RK Puram. Hailing from Rewari, Haryana, she later changed her name Rajshree Yadav.
The couple had their first child, a girl named Katyayini, in March 2023. They welcomed their son second child, a boy, in May this year.
Ex-RJD MLA creates controversy
Expectedly, the comment by the ex-RJD MLA has triggered a massive political row in Bihar.
An effigy of Raj Ballabh Yadav was burnt at Sadbhavna Chowk of Nawada by RJD women’s wing workers, led by district president Renu Singh.
“It is evident that Raj Ballabh Yadav is following in the footsteps of Narendra Modi, who had infamously used foul language against UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi,” alleged Singh.
“Rajshree Yadav is a simple woman who stays away from politics. Yet she has been targeted in a public speech. The former MLA may have once been with the RJD, but now he seems to have taken a leaf out of the book of the BJP-RSS. He deserves to be sent back to jail. In the days to come, our campaign against him is going to intensify,” she added.
RJD leader Kushal Yadav in a press conference labelled the comment an attack against the sentiments of the entire backward and Dalit society.
“Lalu Prasad Yadav is one of the top leaders of the country, the leader of the backward and Dalits. Making such derogatory comments against his daughter-in-law hurts the society. The entire society is heartbroken,” he said.
An old associate of Tejashwi Yadav’s father and RJD president Lalu Prasad, Raj Ballabh Yadav grew sore with the party leadership when his brother Binod Yadav was denied a ticket in last year’s Lok Sabha elections.
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