Janshakti Janata Dal (JD) national president Tej Pratap Yadav has launched a scathing attack on his brother RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, stating that if they can achieve something on their own, only then can one consider them as ‘Jan Nayak’. This statement comes after posters were put up outside the RJD office in Patna recently, labelling Tejashwi Yadav the “Bihar Ka Nayak (hero of Bihar)’.

In response, Tej Pratap Yadav, who was expelled from the RJD a few months back, said, “Who are the true leaders of the people? Karpoori ji, Lohia ji, Ambedkar, and Mahatma Gandhi are leaders of the people. Those who call themselves ‘Jan Nayak’ should not do so.”

Calling his father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav a ‘Jan Nayak’, Tej Pratap said, “Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav are under the shadow of Lalu Prasad Yadav. We will accept them as people’s leaders when they achieve something on their own.”

“I am not under the shadow of Lalu Prasad. I have the blessings of the poor people of Bihar and the youth here, and we are moving forward with those,” he said.

Earlier, RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui, a close aide of Lalu Prasad Yadav, had also questioned the labelling of Tejashwi Yadav as a ‘Jan Nayak’, adding that it will “take more time for Tejashwi Yadav to become a Jan Nayak”.

“It will take him time to become a ‘Jan Nayak’. Tejashwi has inherited Lalu Yadav’s legacy and is trying to fulfil the aspirations of the backward classes,” Abdul Bari Siddiqui had told IANS.

The RJD leader also said that if he continues to carry forward and uphold the ideals and vision of Karpoori Thakur and Lalu Yadav, the public will surely recognise him as a ‘Jan Nayak’.