Patna: Aishwarya Rai, estranged wife of RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav, has dismissed as a “farce” the recent announcement by Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad to expel his elder son from the party for six years. Her remarks come amid a political and personal storm triggered by a viral video featuring Tej Pratap and a woman identified as Anushka Yadav — footage that has intensified tensions within Bihar’s most prominent political family just months before the state elections.
Breaking her silence on Monday, Aishwarya accused the family of staging a drama for electoral optics. “Kicking out a son on social media is not separation,” she said. “Rabri Devi must have gone to him yesterday, wiped his tears and said — son, be quiet, we’ll fix everything. They haven’t expelled him from the party in any real sense. It’s all for show.”
She questioned why, if the family had knowledge of the alleged affair, they proceeded with the marriage in 2018. “Why did they ruin my life?” she asked, referring to her troubled relationship with Tej Pratap, which deteriorated shortly after the wedding. The couple’s divorce case is currently being heard in court.
Aishwarya also invoked the RJD’s long-standing plank of social justice. “When I was beaten, where was their social justice?” she asked. “If everyone knew about the affair, why did they marry me into that family?” She accused the Yadav household of covering up their son’s faults by shifting blame onto her.
She further denied any prior knowledge of the woman in the viral visuals, saying, “I don’t know who Anushka is. I came to know everything through the media.” Appealing to Tejashwi Yadav, she asked, “What happens to me now? I’m also your sister-in-law. We’re not even divorced yet.”
Her mother, Poonam Rai, also made a brief remark, saying, “We knew all this beforehand. Everyone knows what is hidden in this. No further comment.”
The remarks have added a deeply personal twist to an unfolding political drama, with the RJD family’s internal strife now spilling into public view just as the party gears up for crucial polls in Bihar.
