RJD MP Sudhakar Singh backs Tej Pratap Yadav: ‘Marrying multiple times accepted in Hindu traditions … not a crime'
Tej Pratap Yadav who was expelled from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) last week over his alleged extramarital relationship received support from party MP Sudhakar Singh on Monday.
Defending party chief Lalu Prasad's elder son, whom the family has disowned, the Buxar MP and former state minister said marrying multiple times had been 'accepted' in Hindu traditions, and urged Lalu to accept his son's decision.
'Marriage is a personal matter, but I don't consider it a crime … We follow the footsteps of Ram Manohar Lohia who, in his book on Sapta Kranti, wrote that all relationships between a man and a woman are valid except for rape and deceit. If Tej Pratap ji has married again, I don't see it as an immoral act … I, personally, don't believe it is. In Hindu traditions, having two or even three to four marriages has been accepted, and we have heard of such cases. Even today, many such marriages take place,' Singh said.
Referring to the late Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan's second marriage, he said, 'Take (Union Minister) Chirag Paswan, for instance. He was born to Paswan's second wife. Many people have had two or three marriages, everyone knows this. It's neither a big deal nor is it a crime. As a father, Lalu Prasad should accept him.'
Paswan married air hostess Reena Sharma, Chirag's mother, in 1983. In 2014, after his opponents challenged his Lok Sabha nomination papers about omitting his first wife's name, Paswan disclosed that he had divorced her in 1981. Singh argued that 'such instances are still not uncommon and should not be seen as a social evil'.
Last week, a photo on Tej Pratap's official Facebook account showed him with a woman, with the caption claiming that he had been in a relationship with her for over 12 years. He later claimed that his account had been hacked. Soon afterwards, Lalu disowned his son and expelled him from the party for six years, citing his 'irresponsible behaviour' that does not align with the family's values.
In 2018, Tej Pratap married Aishwarya Rai, the granddaughter of former Bihar CM Daroga Prasad Rai. But it did not last long and the two filed for divorce within a year. The matter is currently pending in a family court in Patna. Rai has accused Lalu of knowing all about Tej's affairs and still pushing for the marriage because of political reasons. Aishwarya called her estranged husband's expulsion 'election drama' before the Bihar Assembly polls scheduled to be held later this year.
Tej Pratap, according to RJD insiders, has been at odds with his family since his brother Tejashwi Prasad Yadav's rise in the party. However, on Sunday, he posted on X, referring to himself as 'Krishna' to Tejashwi's 'Arjuna'.
'Those dreaming of separating me from my Arjuna, you will never succeed in your conspiracies. You may take Krishna's army, but not Krishna himself,' read the post. In the same post, he mentioned about 'traitors like Jaichand' inside and outside the party while claiming to 'soon expose every plot'.
In another post on X the same day, he mentioned his parents, writing, 'My entire world is contained in just the two of you. You are greater than God to me, and any command you give is paramount… I only need your trust and love.'
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