MUZAFFARPUR, BIHAR — A new political storm has broken out in Bihar. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tej Pratap Yadav harshly condemned expelled party leader Rajballabh Yadav for making a nasty “jersey cow” statement about Tejashwi Yadav’s wife, Rajshri. Tej Pratap didn’t hold back when he talked to media before an event in Muzaffarpur. He called Rajballabh a “criminal.”
Tej Pratap remarked, “He is a criminal and his moral and political downfall is certain.” He added that nothing better could be anticipated from the former Nawada MLA.
The argument started at a public meeting in Nardiganj, where Rajballabh Yadav attacked the RJD leader personally without mentioning Tejashwi Yadav’s wife. He asked Tejashwi why he had decided to marry someone from outside his state and community in his speech.
“People only use caste to get votes.” When it came to marriage, where did it happen? Why did they have to be married in Haryana and Punjab? Was he receiving a woman or a cow? Was there no girl in the Yadav family? In a comment that has subsequently been widely condemned, Rajballabh Yadav said
Rajballabh Yadav has been attacking RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son Tejashwi Yadav since he got out of jail after spending nine and a half years for a crime under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
In 2021, Tejashwi Yadav married Rachel Godinho, who was in the same school class as him. She was born in Rewari, Haryana, but later changed her name to Rajshri Yadav.
RJD leaders reacted quickly and strongly to the comments. For example, former Nawada MLA Kaushal Yadav held a press conference to denounce the statement, saying it was not just an attack on Rajshri but also an insult to the whole backward and Dalit population. The RJD’s women’s group walked to the streets and burned an effigy of the leader in protest, showing how angry his statements had made some in the party.