Row over Lalu Prasad’s son-in-law attending official meet

BJP slams Mahagathbandhan government as Deputy CM Tejashwi’s aide too seen in a meeting

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s elder son-in-law and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav’s political aide allegedly attending official meetings in Patna along with ministers and officials has courted controversy while, BJP slamming the government, asked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar whether he has allowed son-in-laws and political aides of Ministers to attend official meetings in his government.

Pictures of both Lalu Prasad’s elder son-in-law Shailesh Kumar and Sanjay Yadav who is political aide of Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, attending official meetings have gone viral on social media and tweeted by State BJP leaders Sushil Kumar Modi and Nikhil Anand. Mr. Shailesh, husband of Lalu’s elder daughter and party Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti, is seen in the picture attending meeting of Bihar State Pollution Control Board in Patna on August 18 along with Minister Tej Pratap Yadav and other officials.

Mr. Shailesh is said to be close to Lalu’s elder son and Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Tej Pratap. In the previous Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) government (2015-1017) too, he was often seen with the then Health Minister Tej Pratap.

Similarly, a picture of Mr. Sanjay, political aide of Deputy CM Tejashwi attending an official meeting too surfaced on Friday. Mr. Sanjay is seen sitting along with Mr. Tejashwi and other senior department officials’ allegedly in an official meeting of State Health Department.

Meanwhile, senior State BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi slammed the Mahagathbandhan government while tweeting pictures of both Mr. Shailesh and Mr. Sanjay attending official meetings. “Has Chief Minister Nitish Kumar allowed son-in-laws, brother-in-laws and political advisors of ministers to attend official meetings?”. “Tej Pratap remains in news for all wrong reasons and now as a Minister he seems to have outsourced his duties to his brother-in-law”, Mr. Modi alleged while, adding that “this is RJD government and things like this will continue to happen and CM Nitish Kumar will have no option but to just look at it”. “Shailesh Kumar was not only attending the meeting but even conducting it,” alleged Mr Modi, “but no official will say anything on this”.