RJD leader Rohini Acharya stirred a political controversy around her family on Sunday with another shocking revelations and emotional outpouring on social media, detailing the humiliation and threats she claims to have endured before deciding to withdraw from politics and distance herself from her family. Her latest post described how “a daughter, a sister, a married woman, a mother was humiliated, abuses were hurled, and even faced the threat of being hit with a slipper, and how she refused to “compromise on my self-respect.” She said she left her parental home “due to helplessness,” asserting that she was “made orphan.”
The intensity of her words -- “I pray that none of you ever have to walk my path, and no house should have a daughter-sister like Rohini” -- sent shockwaves in Bihar’s already heated political climate. Her comments arrived a day after she told reporters that Tejashwi Yadav and close aides Sanjay Yadav and Rameez had “thrown” her out of the family. According to her, when she asked questions about the RJD’s electoral defeat, she was “disgraced, abused, and even hit.” She maintained that the leadership “don't want to take any responsibility” for the party’s tally of just 25 seats after contesting more than 140 in a 243-member House.
While no immediate reaction has come from Lalu Prasad Yadav or any member of the Yadav family, responses poured in from leaders across party lines -- some sympathising with Rohini, others saying the matter remains a deeply personal family issue, while raising questions on 'nepotism' and 'safety of women' in Bihar.
After the RJD patriarch’s daughter's statement surfaced, Union Minister Chirag Paswan said he too has faced similar situation. Drawing on his own past challenges, he refrained from offering pointed criticism and instead acknowledged the sensitivity of the moment. “I will not make any comments on this because I can understand the mental status when a family goes through such a difficult situation. I have also been through this,” he said. Emphasising his long-standing personal connection with the Yadav family, he added, “Be it Tejashwi, Tej, Misa or Rohini, I have considered them my siblings... I pray that this family dispute is resolved at the earliest. If there is unity in the family, a person can fight tough situations outside...The family must be going through a tough situation.”
From Kerala, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also addressed the matter with caution. “I really don't want to comment on that,” he stated, explaining that he had not participated in the Bihar campaign and lacked direct knowledge of the ground situation. He noted that after an election, “there should be introspection. Everyone should figure out what happened, what went wrong... and when that happens, some conclusions may follow.”
Meanwhile, Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Dilip Jaiswal expressed concern after seeing “the manner in which Rohini Acharya was insulted.” He said, “I would not like to speak much about their family matter but I would like to urge Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi that a family should not break like this.” Highlighting her earlier sacrifice, he added, “Rohini Acharya donated her kidney to save Lalu Yadav's life. Today, she is facing this. It is not right. Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi should see this.”
Other political voices responded as well, many framing it as a private conflict. In Patna, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari insisted that “This is a family matter. Members of the family will speak on this... Everyone knows that Rohini ji set an example; everyone would want a daughter and sister like her...” HAM(S) leader Santosh Kumar Suman also remarked, “This is their internal matter... if she has said something like that, then it is unfortunate... One should not be in such despair.”
The BJP and the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), however, used the unfolding episode to critique the RJD’s internal functioning. BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala asked whether a party could protect women in Bihar “if his daughter is not respected, safe and protected in her own house.” BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said it appeared that those “dreaming of running the entire Bihar, could not even run their own families,” citing Rohini’s remarks about being “thrown out of the house for asking questions.”
He said, "Rohini Acharya said that being thrown out of the house for asking questions, being beaten up, somewhere reflects the mentality for which the entire regime was known for jungle raj."
Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa added that the incident showed “there is nepotism there, their fight is only for power.”
JDU leader Neeraj Kumar questioned why Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi remained silent: “Rohini Acharya is a daughter who saved her father's life... These tears will cost Lalu Yadav very dearly.” BJP’s Dr Guru Prakash Paswan said that once a person enters public life, “nothing remains private,” and argued that given recent events, the RJD “needs to determine its own course.”
With Tej Pratap Yadav earlier expelled from both the party and the family, Rohini Acharya’s new round of allegations brings yet another public rupture within the Yadav household—deepening the uncertainty surrounding the RJD’s direction after its electoral setback.
The NDA registered a sweeping victory in assembly elections to 243-seats in Bihar with 202 seats with the BJP becoming the single largest party with 89 seats and JD(U) becoming standing a close second with 85 seats.
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