"12-Year Secret Out Now": Estranged Wife Aishwarya Rai On Tej Pratap's Deleted Post

Aishwarya Rai, the estranged wife of Tej Pratap, has downplayed his expulsion from the Rashtriya Janata Dal and family by his father Lalu Prasad Yadav as a mere "drama" and optics before polls in Bihar.

"They did it for polls. This drama is for polls," a visibly upset Rai, who is the granddaughter of former Bihar Chief Minister Daroga Prasad Rai, told reporters.

"I am sure Rabri Devi must have gone to him, wiped off his tears and assured him that she will make everything better. All of them are in this together," she claimed.

Lalu Prasad Yadav on Sunday expelled his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav from the party and snapped all family ties with him, stating that his actions were "irresponsible" and not in accordance with public conduct.

The action followed a post on Tej Pratap's Facebook page, which said he was "in a relationship for 12 years". The post, however, was deleted a few hours later and he claimed on X that his Facebook page was hacked.

Aishwarya Rai alleged that she was kept in the dark about Tej Pratap's alleged relationship with another woman. "Now everyone knows the truth. I want to know if everyone knew about it, then why did he marry me? Why did he ruin my life?"

"The 12-year secret is out now. If it was going on for so many years, then obviously, his family knew about it," she said, referring to a now-deleted social media post by Tej Pratap.

Levelling serious charges against Bihar's most prominent family, she said, "Lalu Prasad Yadav is now talking about social justice after expelling his son. But where was his sense of justice when I was thrown out of the house?"

Claiming that she had no idea about his alleged relationship, she said, "I got to know about all of this through the media. Even the fact that he was divorcing me, I got to know through the media. I had no idea about the relationship."

Aishwarya Rai and Tej Pratap Yadav got married in a grand ceremony in May 2018, but their marriage fell apart within months. She had previously accused Tej Pratap and his family of domestic violence and mental harassment, leading to a legal battle that continues to this day. The divorce petition is also still pending before a family court in Bihar.