RJD Leader Sparks Controversy, Threatens Policeman of Suspension if Refused to Dance
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 15: Apparently hurting the party’s electoral prospects, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tej Pratap Yadav has sparked a controversy evoking sharp response from the rival BJP and the JD(U) while celebrating Holi with his party workers at his residence in Patna.
A video that has gone viral on the social media on Saturday showed Mr Yadav instructing a policeman to dance to his tune during the Holi celebrations and threatened to get him suspended if he refused to oblige him.
In the viral clip, Mr Yadav is seen seated on a stage, addressing a uniformed police officer. Mr Yadav can be heard saying: “Ae sipahi, ae Deepak, ek gana bajayenge uspe tumko thumka lagana hai. Bura mat mano Holi hai. Aaj nahi thumka lagaoge toh suspend kar diye jaoge (Hey, Deepak, I will play a song, and you will have to dance. Don’t mind, it’s Holi. If you don’t dance today, you will be suspended).”
After a few moments, the former state minister began singing a song. The cop joined in, raising his hands in the air and seemingly dancing along. Tej Pratap also participated in ‘kurta faad,’ where people’s clothes are torn after applying colour on them.
The video has triggered a sharp reaction from RJD’s political opponents, with BJP and JD(U) leaders strongly criticising Mr Yadav’s actions. Both parties took aim at the RJD leader, drawing a parallel between Tej Pratap and his father, Lalu Prasad Yadav, the former chief minister of Bihar.
“Like father, like son. First, the father – as the then chief minister – used to make the law dance to his tunes and turn Bihar into ‘Jungle Raj.’ Now, the son, despite being out of power, attempts to make law enforcers dance to his tunes through threats and pressure. He threatens a police personnel with suspension if he doesn’t dance. This shows that RJD believes in Jungle Raj. If they come to power even by mistake, they would violate the law and make its protectors dance. This is just a trailer. So, it is important to keep them away from power,” said BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla.
JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad also condemned the incident, saying: “‘Jungle Raj’ has ended, but the Yuvraj (Prince) of Lalu Yadav is threatening a policeman about the consequences if he does not comply with his instructions to dance. Bihar has now changed. Whether it is Tejashwi Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav, or any of the family members of Lalu Yadav – they need to understand that such acts have no place in the environment of this changing Bihar.”
Elections to the 243-seat Bihar Assembly are scheduled later this year.
