Tej Pratap says won't return home till family backs his divorce decision

Patna, Nov 9: RJD chief Lalu Prasad's son and MLA Tej Pratap Yadav on Friday said he was currently putting up in Haridwar and would not return home till his family backed his decision to divorce his wife of six months.

Talking to a regional news channel here over the telephone, he extended his greetings to younger brother Tejashwi Yadav on his birthday, but said he would not be able to join the celebrations in New Delhi, where the RJD heir apparent has gone to meet their sisters.

The mercurial RJD leader was last seen in Bodh Gaya on Saturday where he had checked in at a hotel after meeting his ailing father at a hospital in Ranchi.

Lalu Prasad is learnt to have been upset over his elder son's decision to seek divorce. Prasad is serving sentences in a number of fodder scam cases. At present, he is lodged at a hospital in Ranchi on medical grounds. Tej Pratap Yadav and Aishwarya Rai - daughter of RJD MLA Chandrika Rai and grandchild of former Bihar chief minister Daroga Prasad Rai - had tied the knot on May 12.

"Our differences are irreconcilable. I had said this to my parents before the marriage was solemnized. But nobody listened to me then and nobody is listening to me now. Until they agree with me, how can I return home?" Yadav said.

The former Bihar minister also expressed displeasure over the role played by some of his close relatives, including in-laws, in his marital dispute.

In an apparent rebuttal of reports that he has been feeling slighted over the growing clout of his younger brother, Yadav said, "I offer my blessings to Tejashwi. May he become the next chief minister of Bihar. I would be by his side and help him the way Krishna had assisted Arjuna in the battle of Mahabharata".

Meanwhile, party national general secretary and Lalu Prasad's close aide Bhola Yadav requested journalists "not to make news out of differences within the family".

"Lalu ji has been not keeping well. The developments have only made the matters worse for him and the way things are being highlighted in the media is causing him further anguish," Bhola Yadav - who has been by the side of the RJD supremo for most part of his incarceration - said.

He also said that Prasad's wife Rabri Devi will not be performing 'Chhatth' this year.

"She has decided to stay away from the festivities as she is also not keeping well. But please do not jump to any conclusions upon hearing this," Bhola told reporters.

Chhath is arguably the most popular festival in Bihar and the Lalu Prasad family arranges for fervent celebrations on the occasion every year. The RJD national general secretary also extended his birthday greetings to Tejashwi and expressed hope that Tej Pratap would return home soon.

PTI