RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav found himself at the centre of a fresh controversy on Saturday when a policeman was commanded by the former Bihar minister to perform a thumka (pelvic thrust) or face suspension.
The lurid drama unfolded at the official residence of Yadav, the elder son of former chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, during Holi celebrations.
In a style reminiscent of the kapda faad Holi that his father used to organise, Yadav tore off clothes of supporters who poured in to greet him and also drove a scooter on the streets adjoining his house, screaming “Happy Holi Paltu Chacha”, a taunt obviously aimed at chief minister Nitish Kumar, who has aligned with and dumped the RJD twice.
One of the videos of his revelry that has gone viral on social media shows the Hasanpur MLA regally seated on a sofa, placed on a make-shift stage, holding a microphone.
Yadav said: “Ae sipahi, ae Deepak, abhi ek gana bajaenge jis par tumko thumka lagana padega. Nahin lagaoge to tumko suspend kar denge. Bura na maano Holi hai (Hey policeman Deepak... we are going to play a song on which you shall perform a pelvic thrust. If you do not, you will be suspended. Don’t mind, it’s Holi).
The policeman did not seem much offended but he did not break into a thumka, he nonetheless obliged Yadav by hopping a few times with his right arm raised high in the air.
However, the impropriety that involved a man in uniform drew criticism from the BJP.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala came out with a strongly worded statement alleging: “Like father, like son. First, the father as the then chief minister of Bihar used to make the law dance to his tunes and turn Bihar into a jungle raj. Now, the son, despite being out of power, attempts to make the law and protectors of the law dance to his tunes through threats and pressure”.
Poonawala added: “He (Yadav) threatens police personnel with suspension if they don’t dance. This shows that RJD believes in jungle raj... If they come to power even by mistake, they would violate the law and make the protectors of law dance... This is just a trailer. So, it is important to keep them away from power...”.