‘Katputli bane shehzada’: Rohini Acharya’s swipe at Tejashwi Yadav after RJD promotion

Rohini Acharya with Lalu Yadav (File Photo)

• Tejashwi Yadav named RJD's national working president, sparking family tensions
• Rohini Acharya criticizes Tejashwi's appointment, calls him a "puppet prince"
• Tej Pratap backs Rohini's remarks, yet defends Lalu Prasad Yadav's decision.

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The Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) decision to appoint Tejashwi Yadav as its new national working president has reignited the simmering family feud within the Lalu Prasad Yadav household, with his daughter Rohini Acharya launching a sharp, veiled attack on her brother on Sunday.

Taking to X, Rohini, without naming Tejashwi Yadav, congratulated him on his “coronation” but described him as a “katputli bane shehzada (prince turned puppet)” of an “infiltrator gang.”

“The pinnacle of politics - in a way, the grand finale of a man's glorious innings, congratulations to the sycophants and the 'Infiltrator Gang' on the coronation of the 'prince turned puppet in their hands’,” she wrote.

Rohini’s remarks found open support from her brother and Jan Shakti Janata Dal chief Tej Pratap Yadav, who said, “The tweet she made is absolutely 100% correct.”

However, Tej Pratap also defended his father Lalu Prasad Yadav’s decision to elevate Tejashwi within the party. “If he (Lalu Yadav) has taken this decision, he must have felt it was the right thing to do. So that's good. Our people are moving forward,” he told reporters.

He added, “He has been given the responsibility, so he should fulfil his responsibility. What else can we say? Whoever gets a responsibility should fulfil it.”

Tejashwi Yadav’s appointment, announced during the RJD’s national executive meeting in Patna on Sunday, has brought the party’s internal and family tensions into sharp public focus. Rohini Acharya’s relationship with the leadership reportedly hit rock bottom after the RJD’s poor performance in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. She has alleged physical and verbal abuse during a party review meeting, including an incident involving a “slipper being raised” to hit her.

Tej Pratap Yadav, too, has had strained ties with the family and the party. He was expelled last year following a controversial Facebook post in which he claimed to be in a relationship, reopening discussions around his personal life, including his ongoing divorce case with Aishwarya Rai, granddaughter of former Bihar chief minister Daroga Rai.

Meanwhile, Rohini Acharya reiterated her views on “Laluvad”, describing it as a struggle for the marginalised and urging grassroots workers to speak up fearlessly. In another veiled jibe at Tejashwi Yadav, who now effectively controls the party organisation, she alleged that “infiltrators and conspirators” sent by fascist opponents were running the RJD.

Expressing concern over the party’s current state, she questioned those responsible for its decline and criticised leaders for evading accountability and silencing dissent. Writing on X, she said that anyone who is a true “Laluvadi” would raise questions about the party founded by Lalu Prasad Yadav.

“Such a person will undoubtedly question those responsible for the party's current sorry state and raise their voice against the dubious and suspect roles of such people, without caring for the consequences,” she said.