Former Bihar Deputy CM and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday stepped forward to defend his father, and former Chief Minster Lalu Prasad, following the uproar over his remarks targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's family.
Yadav accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to divert public attention by focusing on the "Modi ka Parivaar" rhetoric, which emerged in response to Lalu Prasad's recent criticism of the Prime Minister.
Addressing media persons, Yadav drew parallels between the current situation and the "Main Bhi Chowkidar" campaign leading up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, initiated by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who coined the slogan "chowkidar chor hai".
Yadav remarked sarcastically, "I am glad that the words of Lalu ji have so much impact," highlighting the attention garnered by Prasad's comments.
However, he emphasised the need to address pressing issues such as poverty and unemployment, which were raised by his father.
Lalu Prasad had stirred controversy during a rally where he dismissed Prime Minister Modi's criticism of dynastic politics by stating that Modi himself had "no family" of his own.
Yadav questioned the Prime Minister's claims of treating the entire nation as his family, pointing out the government's handling of recent farmer protests in Delhi, which he described as "brutal".
He also read out a short Hindi poem, a rough translation of which said: "The country has 80 crore unemployed people and 120 crore citizens are reeling under price rise. All families are unhappy, yet they claim all are family".
Yadav also defended his father for the remark that Modi is "not a true Hindu" as he did not shave his hair and beard after the death of his mother.
"We are a devout Hindu family with a temple at our home where Aarti is performed every morning and evening. I got my daughter undergo the mundan (tonsure) ceremony. Why the PM chose not to follow the well establishment tradition, is for him to answer," said Yadav.
The RJD leader, who lost his job as Deputy CM when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president, snapped ties with his party, also trained his guns at the NDA government in the state.
"When we were sharing power, we ensured job creation and better remuneration for Anganwadi workers. There were many other proposals which have been hanging fire under the NDA, which seems to have no other agenda except abusing me and my family," alleged Yadav.
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