The continued absence of Tejashwi Yadav, leader of opposition in Bihar assembly, from the current monsoon session for the fourth consecutive day has given much ammunition to the ruling NDA, which claimed all was not well in the family of Lalu Prasad, the incarcerated RJD chief .

Though Tejashwi returned to Patna on Monday after a month-long absence, he failed to appear in the assembly even on Wednesday.

“Is he really ill or shying away from his responsibilities due to some family pressure,” asked BJP leader and minister Binod Narain Jha.

Janata Dal (U) MLA Basistha Singh wondered what type of pain he was in. “Maybe the loss in parliamentary elections or some family disturbance might have forced him to stay inside,” he said.

LJP MP from Munger, Chirag Paswan, who got a pat from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for showing his parliamentary skills, too, joined the issue on Wednesday and demanded Tejashwi’s resignation from he LoP post. “Whatever be the issue, health or family, if he is not able to discharge his duties as leader of opposition, he should step down from the post,” he said.

Even deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi had said in the House the other day that in his political career of 30 years, he had not come across an Opposition leader who remained absent for such a long period.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal however, defended his absence. “He is not well, has severe pain in knee and is unable to sit. He has been advised rest. Once he recovers, he will start attending the assembly session,” said RJD spokesperson and Maner MLA Bhai Birendra.

RJD Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha told media persons in Delhi that Tejashwi had already clarified about his absence through a tweet. “He is recuperating from ligament injury,” Jha said.

Tejashwi, through his tweets, had promised to put the government in the dock for the deaths of innocent children. “I will raise the issue of deaths due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and grill the government with questions, related to crime and health issues, in state Assembly with renewed commitment,” said Tejashwi, soon after landing atPatna airport on Monday.

However, sources in the RJD said that the sibling rivalry between Tej Pratap and Tejashwi Prasad Yadav was intensifying. Tejashwi is reportedly unhappy over the role of his elder brother and sister during the parliamentary elections.

First Published: Jul 04, 2019 09:37 IST