After weeks of estrangement, Tej Pratap Yadav meets Rabri Devi
Patna, Jan 1: Ending weeks of estrangement, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav had an emotional reunion with his mother Rabri Devi in Patna on the occasion of the latter's birthday on Tuesday.
Tej Pratap Yadav
The mercurial RJD MLA called on the former Bihar chief minister at the residence of his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav, who remained conspicuous by his absence. Pratap for the past few months has avoided crossing paths with his mother and younger brother, which was apparent during the short winter session of the assembly in November.
Rabri Devi
Differences between Pratap and Rabri began over her refusal to back his decision to divorce his wife of six months. For the past one week, Pratap has been involving himself in party affairs with an intensity previously not seen, which has led to speculation that he wanted to assert himself in the backdrop of Tejashwi's growing clout within the party.
Tejashwi Yadav
Emerging out of Tejashwi's 5, Desh Ratna Marg bungalow, the elder brother, however, sought to dispel the perception that he was uneasy with the younger sibling being viewed as the party's de facto leader in their father's absence. Upon being approached by a posse of journalists, who asked whether the absence of Tejashwi, who was said to be in the national capital, was another indication of cold vibes between the two brothers, Pratap, who had smearedbhasma' on his forehead in his trademark style, reiterated, "I hereby say Tejashwi is going to be the next chief minister of Bihar."
[Why not? says Tej Pratap Yadav on assuming RJD leadership]
When asked whether he would like to extend New Year greetings to incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Pratap looked straight into the cameras and said, "Wish you a very happy new year uncle. Hope you are watching this."
The former minister said after his recent pilgrimage to Kashi, Vrindavan and Kurukshetra, he was duty-bound to meet his parents and seek their blessings. "I have already received the 'ashirwad' of my father. I am happy that my mother has also blessed me on her birthday," he said.
Lalu Prasad Yadav
About
a
fortnight
ago,
Pratap
had
called
on
Lalu,
who
is
serving
sentences
in
a
number
of
fodder
scam
cases
and
is
currently
lodged
in
a
hospital
in
Ranchi
to
get
treatment
for
a
number
of
ailments.
The
meeting
of
the
father-son
duo
was
preceded
by
the
latter's
prolonged
absence
from
Bihar,
which
followed
a
petition
he
filed
in
a
court
here
seekingdivorcefrom
Aishwarya
Rai,
daughter
of
party
MLA
Chandrika
Rai,
whom
he
had
married
in
May
last
year.
Asked whether his mother was now supporting his decision to seekdivorce, Yadav cryptically replied, "She is with me in all my battles."
He said he would not give his marriage another chance and that he was not reconsidering the decision to seekdivorce.
The divorce petition would come up for hearing again in a Family Court here on January 8.
OneIndia News with PTI inputs