New Delhi, India

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, on Tuesday (Mar 5) defended his father RJD supremo Lalu Yadav’s dig at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not having a family and accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of distracting the public ahead of the upcoming general elections with “Modi ka Parivar (Modi’s family)” rhetoric. 

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Tejashwi defends Lalu’s remarks against PM

The former chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar, sarcastically said how he is glad that his father’s words have caused such a big impact, adding “But what about issues like poverty and unemployment that he had raised? He spoke of so many things.”

During a rally over the weekend, Lalu had said PM Modi “has no family and is neither a Hindu”. Since then several BJP leaders added ‘Modi ka Parivaar’ as a suffix on their social media account names to show solidarity with the Indian PM. 

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“The PM claims that he treats the entire nation as his family. If that is so, why did his government try to crush, so brutally, the recent farmers’ protests in Delhi?” said Tejashwi, as quoted by news agency PTI. 

Tejashwi also defended his father’s remarks about Modi not being “a true Hindu” saying that he did not shave his hair and beard after the death of his mother. 

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“We are a devout Hindu family with a temple at our home where 'aarti' is performed every morning and evening. I got my daughter undergo the mundan (tonsure) ceremony. Why the PM chose not to follow the well established tradition, is for him to answer,” said the RJD leader. 

PM Modi reacts to Lalu’s remarks

“When I oppose familism and say that it is against democracy and not allowing new talent to emerge, they say ‘Modi has no family’. Do they have the license to steal?,” said the Indian PM as he inaugurated multiple development projects in the Indian state of Telangana. 

He added, “I have seen CMs who have family members on high posts in their respective states. Is this democracy? They say their fight is against Modi’s ideology.”

“They say Modi has no family. Is this an ideological battle? I will tell you what an ideological battle is - they say family first, Modi says nation first,” said the Indian PM. 

Lalu’s comments sparks outrage

RJD supremo’s remarks have sparked an outrage among BJP ministers who have slammed Lalu. 

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India’s Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, speaking at a gathering on Monday (Mar 4) said not only 1.4 billion Indians, but the country’s youth and party workers are “Modi’s parivaar”.

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Tuesday (Mar 5) also said she did not expect such remarks from a senior leader like Lalu and called them highly condemnable. 

“He (Lalu) has spent decades in politics and was also CM of the state,” said Sitharaman. She added, “People don’t expect such comments from a senior leader like him. It disheartens the people. One has to maintain dignity in politics.”

(With inputs from agencies)