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By hailing SC judgement, Kejriwal is giving up his last excuse

Abhishek Banerjee
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By hailing SC judgement, Kejriwal is giving up his last excuse

So the Supreme Court judgement in the case of AAP govt vs the Center has come. Obviously, it takes a real legal expert to fully understand and/or dissect the judgement. But on the face of it, the judgement looks like a fair one.

On the one hand, the SC has accepted that Delhi cannot be a full state. This is impossible for functional reasons: the Central government which sits in Delhi and its officers cannot become subject to the control of Delhi government. At the same time, the SC also seems to have accepted Delhi govt’s submission that special powers for the LG of Delhi (over and above ceremonial powers of governors of states) does not mean that he can interfere in day to day working of the elected government.

A half victory for both sides; a mature, middle of the road approach. Because, ideally, there should be only one side here. Both governments in Delhi exist to serve the people of this country.

But true to his love (need?) for hyperbole, the Delhi CM and his minions have gone to town claiming a grand victory for democracy. In doing so, there is nobody that Kejriwal is harming more than himself.

Here is the difference between Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal. One is both stupid and lazy. The other is just lazy.

Since 2015, the Delhi government has struggled to provide any tangibles whatsoever. Not only has it struggled, it hasn’t even tried. It’s ministers, including the CM, appear to be bored on the job. They always have a reason for travelling, for vacations; and when they are not on vacation, they are away campaigning somewhere. The Delhi government wasted a whole year camping in Punjab, chasing a dream that was never going to come true.

And when Punjab elections were over, AAP had to find itself a new hobby. Spreading conspiracy theories about EVM manipulation. Anything to avoid doing their job.

How has the Delhi CM made up for the shortfall in governance? By blaming everything on alleged obstructionism from the LG of Delhi. If not in terms of convincing people on the ground, at least AAP had a rhetorical point on TV debates where the anchors are generally in their favour. In fact, Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues are just coming out of a comical standoff at the LG’s official residence. It took seven days for him to get the press to warm up to his dharna. But as soon as the news of BJP snapping its alliance with PDP wiped him off the front pages, the Delhi CM quietly wound up his dharna and decided to take another break.

So this laziness, this escapism and shirking responsibility appear to be the cornerstones of Kejriwal’s personality. He does not just choose to be lazy, he has a need to be lazy. He can’t help it. It is part of who he is.

Today as he grandstands in front of the media claiming “victory,” Kejriwal has run out of his excuse of last resort. Beginning today, he is not going to get any quarter from the general public when he tries to blame the LG for work not getting done in the national capital.

I am sure he is going to try that anyway. I am sure AAP will never run out of “issues” and conspiracy theories. But whatever little chance he had of convincing anyone with them is gone today.

Another thing for Kejriwal to remember is that the Congress ecosystem, which was totally demoralized in 2013-14, has come alive now. They no longer see the need to prop up somebody like him. I wouldn’t have said this if it was only the right-wing ecosystem (if such a thing exists) that was against him. But he is no longer a favourite of the Congress establishment, which means the entire elite of media, academia and intelligentsia are against him as well. In the face of all this, he is left exposed without even his excuse of last resort.

There is nobody left to blame for his failures and no media, no intellectual, no academic is going to cover for his failures now. And the Delhi CM doesn’t like to work. Tough place to be in.

Like on everything else, I know that Kejriwal has flip-flopped on whether he believes in god. But I would suggest that if he can remember a prayer, he should say it now.

Massive hike in MSP by Modi govt: 150% MSP of Kharif crops among others, farmers ensured 50% profit margin

OpIndia Staff
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Massive hike in MSP by Modi govt: 150% MSP of Kharif crops among others, farmers ensured 50% profit margin

The Union cabinet has approved the proposal of increasing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Kharif crops by 1.5 times the cost. According to report, the MSP for paddy has been increased by around Rs 250 per quintal.


Prime Minister Modi had announced recently that the government is soon going to increase the MSP for Kharif crops to 150% of the cost of production. It was announced during the union budget and was among one of the several major steps planned by the BJP-led government.

Yesterday, it was reported by many media outlets that the PM is holding a high-level meeting to discuss the hike and other major issues. PM Modi reportedly took stock of the procurement data of all the crops on which the MSP was planned to be hiked. The NITI Ayog and the Ministry of Agriculture representatives were there to update the PM on the economic impact and operation and execution of the MSP increase.

The MSP for several crops including rice, sunflower seeds, millets, groundnuts and pulses have been significantly increased.


According to reports, fine paddy and common paddy have seen an MSP hike of 11.3% and 12.9% respectively while Jowar, bajra and ragi will get the MSP hike of 40.9%, 36.8% and 52.5% respectively. Oil seeds like soybeans, sesame and groundnut are to get an MSP increased by 11.4%,17.9% and 9.9% respectively.

Sunflower seeds’ MSP got a 31.4% hike while Moong farmers will get a 25.1% increase in MSP. Maize farmers will be getting MSP increased by 19.3% while Tur and Urad dal crops will be given an MSP hiked by 4.1% and 3.7% respectively. 2 varieties of cotton staples, long and medium are to get an increased MSP of 26.1% and 28.1% respectively.

The Prime Minister has been very keen on schemes and reforms in the farm sector. He has asserted on many occasions that his government is dedicated to achieving the target of doubling farmer’s income by 2022.

The proposed 150% MSP is expected to help paddy, pulses and other major crops like millet the most. This will ensure a minimum 50% profit margin for the farmers. MSP for several crops like cotton, sesame, sunflower seed, groundnut etc has been raised significantly by the cabinet’s decision.

According to reports, the rise in MSP is estimated to cost about Rs 33,500 crores. The share of paddy alone in the extra cost is estimated to be Rs 12,300 crores.

PM Modi has time and again assured farmers in the country that the government will support them whole-heartedly. “Beej se le ke bazaar tak” has been his slogan for his government’s commitment to farmers.

SC expresses ‘shock’ and ‘concern’ over the nature of TMC’s victory of in recent Panchayat polls

OpIndia Staff
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SC expresses ‘shock’ and ‘concern’ over the nature of TMC’s victory of in recent Panchayat polls

In yet another major setback for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Supreme Court has said that there were huge malpractices in the recent elections in West Bengal. The Supreme Court termed it as utterly shocking.


The bench headed by the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, took the issue of so many uncontested seats into notice and said that a few hundred uncontested seats can be understood, but expressed concerns after looking to the statistics.

The Supreme Court asked the state Election Commission to give the data on all the uncontested posts by tomorrow. The Supreme Court expressed anguish on the issue, “We cannot remain oblivious of this fact that such a huge number of seats were uncontested in the Panchayat elections in the state”. The bench questioned the decisions of the state election body. The commission had first extended the time for filing of nomination papers and later took it back within a day.

The court also feared that the values of the constitution are eroded in the state, as grass root democracy is enshrined in the constitution. “What is bothering us is that out of total 48,650 Panchayat seats, 16,000 posts remained uncontested,” the bench.

The bench comprised of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, responded to the grave situation, referring the same fear regarding elections for the posts of Zilla Parishad (district level) and Panchayat Samitis of the villages.

In recent elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) had won 34 per cent of seats uncontested in the gram panchayat polls. There were 20,076 seats out of 58,692 seats, where elections were not held, as no political party could not contest against the ruling Trinamool Congress government for various reasons.

The TMC had won 203 seats out of the 825 Zilla Parishad seats, while the party won 16,814 of the 48,650 Gram Panchayat seats while the party won 3,059 of 9,217 Panchayat Samiti seats uncontested. The TMC won more seats uncontested in the districts of Birbhum, Bankura, Murshidabad and South 24 Paraganas.

The elections to the Panchayats saw one of the most violent days since the time of Communist rule in the state. The TMC party is alleged to have openly threatened and used violence against the other political parties to make sure that they do not contest the elections.

Yogi govt to introduce dress code in madarsa to set them at par with formal schools

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi govt to introduce dress code in madarsa to set them at par with formal schools

The Yogi government is planning on introducing a dress code for students studying in madarsas so that they are no longer set apart from other school students, PTI has reported.

As per a statement given by the state’s Muslim Waqf and Haj minister – Mohsin Raza, the UP government is aiming to bring madarsas on par with other educational institutes in every sense. Hence they would seek to make the clothes worn by madarsa students more formal that the kurta-payjama which is currently worn by them. He also stated that the government might fund the new clothes.

Raza though didn’t make clear what the new dress code would be, but claimed that it would be proposed in the near future.

As per a DNA report, the introduction of the dress code would be a collective effort, and a decision would be taken after consulting with the parents and madarsa management. The report also stated that it wasn’t clear whether the new dress code would have room for the skull caps and hijab commonly worn by the madarsa students.

Incidentally such a move would come about a month after the state cabinet led by CM Yogi introduced NCERT books in madarsas, which would be made available in languages like English, Hindi and Urdu. It was also reported that subjects like science, mathematics and computers would also be introduced in the madrasa curriculum.

It might be noted that ever since the Yogi government came to power in Uttar Pradesh, it has endeavoured to inculcate a few mainstream norms in the state aided madarsas.

The state government had issued a circular last year, instructing the state-aided madarsas to register on the newly launched “Madarsa Portal”. After registering there, the madarsas were required to upload the details of the teachers, support staff and their infrastructure.

The madarsas though didn’t take it seriously and it was reported that the Yogi government was strongly considering about cancelling the accreditation of 2,682 madarsas after they failed to submit their details on the portal despite several reminders.

Luxurious ‘samajwad’: Akhilesh Yadav to build a heritage hotel in Lucknow

OpIndia Staff
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Luxurious ‘samajwad’: Akhilesh Yadav to build a heritage hotel in Lucknow

After trashing his government accommodation and stripping it off fixtures and moving into a villa of his own, Samajwadi Party chief and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is now planning to build a heritage hotel in the heart of Lucknow. According to reports, the former UP CM, along with his wife MP Dimple Yadav, has submitted an application to the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) to build a heritage hotel on a prime piece of land in Vikramaditya Marg.

The power couple has reportedly submitted a blueprint of the hotel, named as Hibiscus Heritage to the Lucknow Development Authority for clearance of its map and has sought other necessary approvals. The hotel is planned on a 23,000 square feet plot with number 1-A on Vikramaditya Marg. The plot was reportedly bought by the Akhilesh and his wife in 2005 for the sum of Rs 39 lakhs. Its present value is estimated to be in several crores.

It is notable here that the plot for the proposed hotel is located close to the official bungalow at 4, Vikramaditya Marg that Akhilesh had to vacate recently after a Supreme Court order.

The LDA has reportedly sent the proposal file to the chief town planner after suggesting some corrections in the map. Akhilesh, as per reports, will have to obtain a dozen other permissions from ASI, Fire Department, Lucknow Nagar Nigam, Lucknow Jal Sansthan etc before moving ahead with the construction work. The plot at Vikramaditya Marg is also very close to the 5, Kalidas Marg bungalow that is now the official residence of UP CM Yogi Adityanath.

Akhilesh also reportedly owns several other residential villas and commercial properties in the city. He is believed to have properties in London too, where he is currently on a vacation with his family.

Akhilesh was heavily criticised by the public for initially refusing to vacate his government allocated bungalow even after an SC order. He had even claimed that he does not own a house and is unable to find a house on rent. Akhilesh did vacate his bungalow after the apex court turned his request down. But while vacating, he and his supporters had badly damaged the government funded property.

The 4, Vikramaditya Marg bungalow was stripped of its expensive imported tiles, broken down the gym, removed plants, mirrors and other ornamental items and even had taken away the faucets and plumbings. The Yadav family had then moved to a posh villa owned by them in Lucknow.

‘Media watchdog’ Newslaundry peddles casteist propaganda on Jagannath Temple, Puri

OpIndia Staff
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‘Media watchdog’ Newslaundry peddles casteist propaganda on Jagannath Temple, Puri

Left-leaning website Newslaundry, which likes to call itself a ‘media watchdog’ is back to peddling propaganda, this time, the casteist propaganda that President Kovind and his wife were ill-treated by the priests at Jagannath Temple, Puri because of his caste. In an article titled ‘The media’s blind eye to President Kovind’s humiliation’, Newslaundry tries to ‘analyse’ why a ‘Dalit president’s insult by Brahmin priests’ inside a temple is not a newsworthy story.


Which is interesting tweet to link a propaganda piece, considering we at OpIndia had already busted the ‘Brahmin priest’ theory which was earlier peddled by coup theorist Shekhar Gupta. A narrative was built to say how Brahmin priest misbehaved with President Kovind because he is a Dalit.

Newslaundry questions why a Dalit president’s insult by Brahmin priests inside the temple, not a newsworthy story? First of all, many major publications as well as well as politicians picked up the story. So the claim ‘Apart from one or two media houses, the story wasn’t even printed, let alone debated on prime-time news hours.’ is incorrect.

Next the article states that on ‘on March 18, a servitor (a Brahmin priest performing rituals) did not give the president proper space. Some servitors even “nudged” the couple while they were having darshan.’ The fact is, that among 36 types of servitors, nijoga as it is called, most of them are not even Brahmins. For example, the servitors who prepare the earthen pot for cooking Mahaprasad are potters (Kumbhara). In fact, the class of priest who enjoys the highest privilege, Daitapati, are descendants of tribals. They enjoy some exclusive privilege and access during the annual Rath Yatra and Nabakalebara when the Lord takes a new form leaving His old body.

There are many other classes of servitors like the Suara, Bhoi, Bimanabadu, Bishoi etc who are not Brahmins and enjoy equal privilege inside temple performing some duty of the Lord. So, this imaginary theory that President was ill-treated because he was a Dalit falls flat.

Newslaundry article then states a ‘fact’, ‘The fact that President Kovind went public with his insult, and issued a notice to the temple administration, shows this is not a trivial issue, like evading personal space or simple pushing.’ The President’s office has categorically denied such an incident having taken place. Press secretary to the President tweeted that the incident mentioned in Newslaundry article is ‘fictional’.


This is not the first time Newslaundry has peddled propaganda and bigotry. Earlier a journalist with Newslaundry had even seemingly conjured up a ‘media person’ to further her own narrative about the Northeast. Earlier, during the Gujarat elections, a columnist with the portal was caught spreading propaganda using Twitter, by plugging an old video of the Prime Minister and passing it off a current video. The portal had also deliberately misquoted the Prime Minister to turn his statement into an ‘anti-Dalit’ joke. In fact, even their “fact-check” on PM Modi’s interview with Arnab Goswami was fact-checked by us.

Ironically, Newslaundry at one point, wanted to ‘keep news real’.

Update: The article by Newslaundry now stands ‘suspended‘ since ‘the incident it was commenting on has been denied to have occurred’.

SC dismisses PIL seeking SIT probe in the PNB scandal, calls allegations against PM Modi reckless

OpIndia Staff
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SC dismisses PIL seeking SIT probe in the PNB scandal, calls allegations against PM Modi reckless

As per reports, the Supreme Court rejected the plea (PIL), filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, seeking special investigation team (SIT) probe into the Nirav Modi multi-crore scam after taking serious note of personal allegations levelled against the Prime Minister and Finance Minister in the petition.

The PIL, filed by advocate M L Sharma, had alleged that no banks would release huge funds without the intervention of the political leadership.

SC bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, showing complete disgruntlement over the allegations made in the petition against the government said: “What kind of PILs are you filing. You read some newspaper report and straight away come to court.. and such reckless personal allegations against someone. These PILs are not PILs at all.” Opposing the petition, Attorney General K K Venugopal said it was a “Publicity Interest Litigation”. He alleged that various unfounded and baseless allegations have been levelled against the two top government leaders.

The bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices D Y Chandrachud, and A M Khanwilkar also declared that since a chargesheet has already been filed in the matter it would not be proper for the court to intervene at this stage.

Later, the advocate’s plea of refiling the petition without mentioning the names of the top political functionaries was also dismissed by the Supreme court bench.

The Interpol, earlier this week had issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, his brother Neeshal Modi and close aide Parab Subhash Shankar in connection with the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam worth Rs 13,578 crores.

Nirav Modi has reportedly left the country earlier in 2018 before the Punjab National Bank disclosed the news of the mega loan fraud. Modi and his maternal uncle Mehul Choksi are both wanted by CBI and ED in India under non-bailable warrants. Their properties in India have been attached and the CBI has sought legal sanction to attach his overseas properties too. Many business associates and high-level staffers of the two business houses have been arrested by the CBI in connection to the loan fraud and several bank officials have also been held for helping the Diamond tycoons in executing the fraud.

The opposition perpetually predisposed to bushwhack the government managed to twist and concoct a sensational conspiracy theory involving absconding diamond merchant Nirav Modi and the Income Tax department which was later refuted by the IT department. It remains to be seen whether the IT department would take some legal action against those who spread the allegation which it describes as false and misdirected.

Whether the IT department reacts or not, people at this point are left to wonder, how is it that every member of the opposition possesses a memory like a sieve. Before blowing the whistle at the government they should for once be counting the skeleton’s hidden up their closet.

Soon after the news of the fraud, which incidentally was perpetrated since 2011 broke, the Congress party decided to desperately link it to Narendra Modi by claiming that Nirav Modi met the PM in the Davos economic summit this year. Very soon, the table turned and much to their embarrassment it was reported that the former Finance secretary Rajiv Takru, working under the erstwhile UPA government had tried to “silence” the PNB whistleblower in 2013. Besides this, it had also been alleged that Finance Minister P Chidambaram himself had signed the whistleblower’s termination letter.

FIR against Congress IT cell worker for sexually harassing colleague, Divya Spandana blames victim

OpIndia Staff
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FIR against Congress IT cell worker for sexually harassing colleague, Divya Spandana blames victim

The Delhi Police has lodged an FIR against a working member of the Congress IT cell. According to reports, FIR has been lodged against one IT cell worker named Chirag Patnaik for sexually harassing a female colleague.


According to reports, the FIR has been registered under IPC sections 354-A (sexual harassment) and section 509 (outraging the modesty of a woman) at the North Avenue police station against the said Congress worker. The FIR has been registered on the complaint by a former employee of the Congress IT cell who was a part of their social media team. The woman has reportedly alleged that she was sexually harassed by Patnaik and despite her complaints to senior workers and head of the IT cell on the issue, she was harassed further and was forced to resign.

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi had yesterday mentioned the issue in her press conference. She had also stated there are several cases where Congress leaders and workers have been involved in sexually harassing and assaulting women and the party not only shields them but also displays hypocrisy of sharing ‘survey reports’ that India is an unsafe country for women.

In her complaint, the aggrieved woman has reportedly written that she even had reported to Congress IT cell head Divya Spandana but Divya, instead of acting on the issue, accused her of bad performance and continued mentally harassing her. The victim had named Patnaik as Divya Spandana’s aide who runs the social media office and the official Twitter handles @INCIndia and @INCSandesh.


Congress IT cell head Divya Spandana in her statement has claimed that they had not received any complaint against Patnaik from the ex-employee against Patnaik and they are now awaiting her response on their query over the issue. Without naming Patnaik, she stated that she and her team are in ‘full support’ of their current worker (Patnaik) based on their past experience of working with him. The statement also claimed that they do not believe the claims of harassment made by the victim.


Several social media users have condemned Divya Spandana’s behaviour stating that this displays Congress party’s attitude of blaming victims and aiding perpetrators when it involves their own workers. Last week, NSUI President Fairoz Khan was accused of sexually exploiting women. BJP social media head Amit Malaviya has stated that the victim belongs to a minority community.

There have been several allegations of sexual assault and other crimes against women involving Congress workers in the recent past. In February a youth Congress leader Mirza Mozaim Baig was arrested in Hyderabad for stalking and harassing a woman. In Karnataka, a woman had alleged Congress MLA’s son Mohammad Nalapad Harris and his supporters of assaulting her.

Did MEA passport app really get 1 million downloads in a day?

OpIndia Staff
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Did MEA passport app really get 1 million downloads in a day?

On 29th June, 2018, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted two links which claimed that ‘Passport Seva mobile App’ which has been ‘recently’ launched by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), has already registered 1 million downloads.


In fact, one link by Indian Express also claimed that the app had 1 million downloads in ‘two days’ of its launch.


Two days prior, on 26th June, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had tweeted a picture of ‘launch’ of Mobile Passport Application on Passport Seva Divas.


Many people on Twitter also raised doubts about the number of downloads of the app.


As pointed out by Twitter user @attomybharti above, the app in question, mPassport Seva was launched in March, 2013 and available on Android platform in July, 2013.

mPassport Seva app launch

The status in June 2014 shows app download range between 1,00,000 – 5,00,000.

First 1 lakh downloads in June 2014

The status in February 2015 shows app download range between 5,00,000 – 10,00,000.

5 lakh app downloads

And currently, the total downloads stand at 1 million. Which means, the total downloads of the app since its launch in 2013 (not last week as claimed by MEA in her tweet and publications like Tribune and Indian Express) stands at 1 million+.

1 million downloads of mPassport Seva app.

That means, the download figure of the app could be anything between 1 million to 5 million, the exact figure can only be known by the developers, in turn, the ministry.

While we are not refuting the claim that the app has been downloaded 1 million times on the Google PlayStore, it was not ‘launched’ on 26th June, and it certainly did not reach the milestone in 2 days. Perhaps what the minister launched that day was an update of the app. Which also means, unless the Tribune and Indian Express filed their reports based on the developer data provided by the developer, the ministry, and not the publicly available data on the PlayStore, the story is most likely false.

Only the MEA could provide the exact details about the recent downloads.

Upset at being called ‘pagal’ and ‘sanki’, did Tej Pratap decide to quit politics?

OpIndia Staff
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Upset at being called ‘pagal’ and ‘sanki’, did Tej Pratap decide to quit politics?

RJD chief’s older son Tej Pratap Yadav is eccentric, to put it mildly. From wishing for a ‘secular’ temple at Ayodhya to accusing Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of letting ghosts loose in his official residence, Tej Pratap has shown his versatility in strange behaviour. Recently, former health minister of Bihar who himself dropped out of school after his 12th Board exams, had stirred a controversy by saying that he would retire from politics. But by evening, he was back to claiming that he was here to stay.

Tej Pratap again decided to quit politics, accusing his mother Rabri Devi of scolding him when he complained to her and Lalu about RJD leaders Om Prakash Yadav and Subodh Kumar Rai of trying to harm his reputation. A Facebook post appeared last evening where he accused these leaders of calling him ‘pagal’ and ‘sanki’ (mad). In a post in Hindi, Tej Pratap said, how people of his constituency Mahua have no issues with him but have complaints against Om Prakash Yadav and Subodh Rai for spreading rumours about him.

Tej Pratap’s Facebook post, now deleted.

In the post, he writes about how he has spoken of these ‘aastheen ke saanp‘ to his parents but instead of listening to him, his parents end up scolding him. He said he is under tremendous pressure and hence he cannot continue being in politics.

However, Tej Pratap has now deleted this post and has claimed that his Facebook page was hacked by BJP people who are busy hacking into Tej Pratap’s account. He then wrote another post on Facebook claiming RSS and BJP are trying to hack into his Facebook to create a rift within his family. He then wrote a third post, this time accusing Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He even posed with a placard which said ‘No Entry Nitish Chacha’.


Tej Pratap Yadav who was the erstwhile health minister before the coalition government in Bihar broke down that there has been little mention of his in the media. This alienation of Yadav is said to have escalated ever since the RJD chief and his father Lalu Prasad Yadav was jailed in December on corruption charges. Since Lalu’s arrest, his younger son Tejashwi Yadav took charge of the party and has been credited with the party’s three by-poll wins.

Tej Pratap Yadav had earlier stirred up a controversy by threatening to ‘skin’ Prime Minister Modi when his father security was downgraded; even Lalu disapproved of his statement. He is also accused of constructing an illegal temple in the premises of his ministerial bungalow, which was allotted to him when he was a minister. Recently when he got married, crowd looted food and crockery.

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