Akash Yadav, the brother of Anushka Yadav, the woman at the heart of Tej Pratap Yadav's expulsion from his party and family, has lashed out against Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Yadav and his political heir Tejashwi Yadav.
Akash Yadav - a former youth leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal who is now with Pashupati Paras's faction of the Lok Janshakti Party -- questioned why Tej Pratap Yadav was thrown out, insisting he has committed no crime.
"Is Tej Pratap Yadav a rapist? Is he a thief? Stole someone's dupatta? Carried out obscene acts? So why this huge (punishment)? Is this Mughal-e Azam? Or is this the old-style village panch where a love marriage brought on retribution from village elders?" he told reporters today.
In a series of blistering remarks, Akash Yadav alleged that his sister is now being subjected to character assassination on social media and said he beseeched Lalu Yadav's family to stop it.
He accused Tejaswi Yadav of "beheading" his brother as the chief of the party and said Tej Pratap was once being portrayed as a "joker... everyone knows his party tried to make a fool of him".
"As an elder brother, I can say that two adult people have the right to have privacy... We will stand by our sister and fulfil the duty of an elder brother with full strength," he added.
Who are Akash and Anushka Yadav
The family is from Langartoli, Patna and claim their older generations have taken part in the freedom movement.
Tej Pratap Yadav and Anushka Yadav had met while Akash Yadav was in the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Sources said Akash Yadav was once the state president of RJD's student wing-- appointed by Tej Pratap Yadav. Tejashwi Yadav had removed him from the post, on which there was a ruckus in the party. In 2021, Akash Yadav joined Pashupati Paras's faction of the LJP and the national president of the party's youth wing.
The Controversy
The massive churn in the first family of Bihar started last week as a post was seen on Tej Pratap Yadav's Facebook profile.
"I am Tej Pratap Yadav and the girl who is seen with me in this picture is Anushka Yadav. We both have known each other for the last 12 years and love each other deeply. We have been in a relationship throughout these years. I wanted to share this with all of you for a long time, but couldn't find the right words. Today, through this post, I am opening my heart to you. I hope you all will understand," read the accompanying caption.
The post was deleted and again reinserted and later, the Yadav junior said his profile was hacked.
His father Lalu Yadav, in a post on X, formerly Twitter, said he was expelling his son from the party and family since the party could not ignore "moral values". In this, he was seconded by every member of his family, including Tejashwi Yadav.
The post raised questions why Tej Pratap Yadav had married Aishwarya Rai, the daughter of former Bihar minister Chandrika Rai in 2018. The two had separated months after the wedding in 2018. Their divorce petition, filed within months, is pending before a court.
