Lalu's Son Tej Threatens PM Modi, BJP Says He Sounds 'Mentally Unstable'

Patna: Tej Pratap Yadav, the older son of Bihar leader Lalu Yadav, has mined a new low today by threatening to "scalp" Prime Minister Narendra Modi for downgrading his father's security. Lalu Yadav said he disagrees with his son's language but not his sentiment. "Any son's blood will boil if he feels his father is under threat and his security is withdrawn" he said.

The 69-year-old also declared that his reduced security cover is designed to intimidate him; he has suggested the same of a robust series of corruption cases that name him.

"If Narendra Modi thinks I will be scared, I won't. All the people, even the children of Bihar will protect me," he proclaimed.

Tej Pratap, who is 30 and whose stint as a Bihar minister was undistinguished, is apparently trying to reinvent - as an industrious threat-giver.  A BJP leader has filed a criminal case of intimidation against him for his remarks on the PM. Suresh Sharma, who is a minister in Bihar and from the BJP, said "Only a person who is mentally unstable will make such statements...Lalu Yadav also made outlandish remarks but never crossed the line like this."

Last week, after being invited to the wedding of Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi's son, Tej Pratap said that if he were to grace the occasion, it would be to assault Sushil Modi, who is a senior BJP leader, and "expose him".
 Sushil Modi responded by relocating the wedding for "security reasons." Apparently satisfied with his impact, Tej Pratap generously said the BJP leader should proceed with his plans "without fear".

Yesterday, Lalu Yadav was removed from the group of VVIPS who are given Z+ security, the maximum protection offered to politicians. The Z+ cover is viewed often as a status symbol.

Tej Pratap and his brother Tejashwi Yadav were given top billing in the govenrment of Nitish Kumar till July because their father's party had the maximum seats in the Bihar legislature. But after the Yadavs were named in a corruption case by the CBI, they were dumped by Nitish Kumar as allies, along with the Congress; he traded them in for the BJP, prompting invective from the Yadav clan that, months later, remains unabated.

Lalu Yadav's wife, Rabri Devi, earlier this month warned that there is no paucity of people in Bihar who are willing to assault the PM - her assertion was in response to a senior BJP leader demanding that criticism of the PM should be met with "hands being chopped off".