RJD chief Lalu Yadav’s daughter Misa Bharti on Monday acknowledged the “rift” between her two brothers — Tej Pratap and Tejashwi Yadav — but asserted that despite all differences, the party was a “big family”.
“Even our family has witnessed a rift between two brothers but where do differences not come up? Five fingers of our hands are not equal. But the RJD is like a big family,” Bharti said while addressing party workers in Maner on the outskirts of Patna.
“We are not lacking in support base. The challenge is to keep our flock together,” she added.
She urged the party workers to give up bickering and stay united.
Bharti further warned that no “back-stabbing” would be tolerated by any member of the party.
“The time has come for you all to give up small differences and brace for the bigger challenges and do not give our opponents a chance to exploit the situation,” she said.
As soon as the news about rift between the brothers began to gather steam, Bharti claimed that her call for unity among party workers was presented in a distorted manner.
Taking to micro blogging site Twitter, she wrote, “My appeal to party workers to forget their differences and unite in the larger interest of the party is being distorted and presented out of context.”
Latching onto her statement, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that Bharti’s admittance of infighting in the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) would lead to the collapse of the party and its dynasty politics.
State BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand said, “Misa Bharti has admitted what we all know. The RJD will crumble because of the infighting within the family that controls the party.”
“The BJP has been fighting against the politics of dynastic rule and corruption. The RJD embodies these evils and it will meet its fate”, Anand said.
Said to be a favourite of Lalu Prasad, Tejashwi was appointed the deputy chief minister of Bihar while the elder brother Tej Pratap was given a cabinet berth, after the Grand Alliance of which RJD was a part won the 2015 assembly polls in which the brothers made their electoral debut.
At present, Tejashwi is the leader of the opposition in the state assembly.
(With agency inputs)