Patna: The proposed wedding of former Bihar health minister Tej Pratap Yadav, elder son of incarcerated Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad, has run into controversy with the ruling Janata Dal United setting a condition for attending the function.
The JD-U has suggested the Lalu Prasad family to make a formal declaration in public that it’s going to be a “dowry-less marriage” and also the ceremony would be without pomp and show to enable them to attend the function.
“We have a condition for attending this wedding. We would attend the wedding only when the Lalu Prasad family makes a formal declaration that they are not taking any dowry,” JD-U spokesperson Neeraj Kumar told the media on Monday.
The JD-U spokesperson made this demand after the Prasad family extended wedding invitations to the JD-U leaders, including chief minister Nitish Kumar, setting aside the bitter political rivalry they were involved in since the latter formed his government with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) after breaking away from the erstwhile ruling Grand Alliance in July last year.
Prasad’s eldest daughter Misa Bharti, a Rajya Sabha Member, herself rushed to the chief minister on Sunday to extend wedding invitation. The wedding of Tej Pratap with Aishwarya Rai, granddaughter of former chief minister, is scheduled to he solemnised on May 12.
The bizarre condition set by the JD-U spokesperson has triggered a fresh row in Bihar with the RJD charging the JD-U of indulging in cheap politics. “Mr Lalu Prasad has been totally against dowry and hence he didn’t give any dowry in the wedding of his nine daughters nor is he taking any in the wedding of his son but Nitish Kumar, Sushil Kumar Modi and other NDA leaders are hypocrites and have indirectly promoted dowry marriages in Bihar,” alleged RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav.
He said the Prasad family had never indulged in such kind of low politics and hence extended invitations to NDA leaders without nursing any grudge against them. “It’s OK if they skip the function but we have done duty from our side,” he added.
The RJD also asked the JD-U to declare in writing that Bihar is completely free of alcohol. The state government, it may be noted here, has imposed total prohibition in the state since April last year yet alcohol flows across the state despite all the tall claims.
According to an official report, 2.3 million litres of alcohol have been seized by the police and excise department sleuths in Bihar since the total prohibition imposed in the state, exposing the tall claims of total liquor ban in Bihar.
