Have no dispute with Raghuvansh 'uncle', says Tej Pratap

Patna

The Opposition in Bihar is apparently trying to cash in on RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav's "lota" remark on his party colleague Raghuvansh Prasad ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

However, during a media interaction on Thursday, the elder son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad changed his approach towards Raghuvansh Prasad. Addressing the latter as uncle, Tej Pratap said his statement was "not properly presented by the media".

"Everything is fine in RJD and we have no dispute with Raghuvansh uncle," Tej Pratap said.

Earlier this week, Tej Pratap had said if anyone takes out a jug (lota) of water from the sea (RJD), it would not affect much.

The remark was a symbolic reference to RJD being a sea, and Singh was cited as a "jug of water" whose "exit" won't hurt the party.

There have been speculation that Raghuvansh Prasad is unhappy over certain developments within the party.

He is also opposed to the possibility of his rival and ex-LJP leader Rama Singh joining the RJD.

BJP parliamentarian Ram Kripal Yadav said on Thursday, "Raghuvansh Prasad is one of those leaders who laid the foundation for the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and he deserves more respect. Unfortunately, he felt insulted. The party leaders are not respecting his seniority and all the work he has done over the years. My personal suggestion to him is to resign immediately from the party."

Ram Kripal was one of the close aides of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad. He, however, switched to the BJP ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls over the issue of ticket distribution.

Jay Kumar Singh, a cabinet minister in Nitish Kumar government and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader, said: "Raghuvansh ji is a learned person and a great leader. He has his own ideology and does not make any compromise on it."

Raghuvansh Prasad had resigned from the post of Vice President of RJD after there was speculation of Rama Singh joining the party.

Rama Singh had contested the 2014 parliamentary election from the Vaishali constituency against Raghuvansh Prasad.

"Raghuvansh Prasad is not unhappy with the RJD. The double engine government of JDU-BJP is hiding its failures by making Raghuvansh's resignation from the Vice President's post an issue. They will face the heat of the voters in the elections," said RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwari.