Stung by Modi’s dynasty politics remark, Lalu hits below the belt

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent criticism of dynasty politics evoked a below-the-belt response on Friday from RJD president Lalu Prasad who controls the party with the help of his wife and three children.

The former Bihar chief minister was asked about Modi’s remarks criticising dynasty politics in an interview earlier this week. The PM had also praised Prasad’s arch-rival Nitish Kumar, the current chief minister, for not bringing any family member into politics.

”Modi never had any children. Nitish has a son who is averse to politics. One can only pray that they are blessed with offspring who can carry forward their political legacy,” said the RJD leader, who has been known for pushing the boundaries of civility in public discourse, during a media interaction.

Prasad was accompanied by younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, who started off in 2015 as the deputy to Nitish Kumar when the arch rivals had entered into a short-lived political alliance.

Yadav took a jibe at the prime minister reminding him of his famous acrimony with the Bihar chief minister that continued till the latter returned to the BJP-led NDA in 2017.

”Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar used to call each other names. One would say BJP stands for badka jhutha (big liar) party. The other would say JD(U) (Kumar’s party) stood for janata ka daman, utpidan (suppression and exploitation of the masses),” Tejashwi Yadav recalled.

”The two senior leaders would do well to make up their mind about each other,” the 33 years old said, tongue in cheek.

Yadav’s mother Rabri Devi had succeeded his father as the chief minister and held the post till the RJD’s defeat in 2005 at the hands of the JD(U)-BJP combine.

While Yadav is now the leader of the opposition in state assembly, his elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav is a second term RJD MLA, and eldest sister Misa Bharti is a member of the Rajya Sabha.