Tej Pratap Yadav, Lalu Yadav's Debutant Son, Repeats Oath After Flub

Patna:  Tej Pratap Yadav, the politically inexperienced older son of Lalu Yadav, was third in line to be sworn in today as a minister in Bihar's Nitish Kumar government.

He was asked by Governor Ramnath Kovind to repeat his oath after a flub; he had said "Upekshit (neglected)" instead of "Apekshit (expectations)". Even in his second attempt, he fumbled on another word.

Tej Pratap, who turns 28 tomorrow, has settled for a junior role compared to his younger brother Tejaswi, who is set to take charge as Deputy Chief Minister at 26.

Though both sons of Lalu Yadav are debutants and won their first election this time, Tejaswi is widely seen as his father's political heir since he campaigned with him for last year's national election.

Lalu's oldest Misa contested the Lok Sabha election but lost. She was present at the swearing in ceremony along with two more sisters.

Misa, Tej Pratap and Tejaswi are the only ones among Lalu's nine children to join politics.

Story First Published: November 20, 2015 14:31 IST

Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi clarifies 'Chopping hands' remark, calls it a Hindi idiom

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Saturday said that his 'chopping hands off' comment was not literal, and added that he was using an idiom to say that he would restrict the powers of doctors if they treated patients unfairly. "They should have knowledge about Hindi idioms, chopping off hands means restricting rights. I did not mean literally chopping hands off. By cutting hands, I meant restricting their powers," said Manjhi.

Earlier today, Manjhi had said that he will cut off the hands of those found playing with the lives of the poor, referring to doctors who have been treating those injured in the recent Gandhi Maidan stampede. The Bihar Chief Minister's comment garnered criticism from various political parties with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Siddharth Nath asking the leader to apologize.

"It is unfortunate that the chief minister is making such statements. It is not easy to become a doctor and saying that we will chop their hands is very disappointing. He should apologize of such a thing," Singh said. Thirty-three people lost their lives and several injured in the stampede that took place at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna on October 3 during the Dussehra celebrations.

All the patients are provided free of cost treatment at the PMCH.