Tej Pratap Yadav vacates ‘haunted’ bungalow

After the JD(U) parted ways with the Grand Alliance and joined the NDA last July, all 12 former RJD ministers, including Tej Pratap and his brother Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, were asked to vacate government bungalows. A former minister is not entitled to a government bungalow. Most RJD ministers have, however, not vacated the government bungalows.

Leader of Opposition Tejashwi, who had been allotted 5 Deshratna Marg as Deputy CM, has now been allotted the 1 Polo Road bungalow, where Sushil Modi lives. Sushil Modi has been allotted 5 Deshratna Marg, but Tejashwi has refused to vacate it, saying he is entitled to the type of house he is living in.

After being accused by NDA leaders of taking “undue” time to vacate the bungalow, and allegedly using it for meetings of his apolitical organisation Dharmnirpeksh Sevak Sangh, Tej Pratap moved out while calling it haunted. Sushil Modi regretted that the political discourse in Bihar was “relegated to ghost stories by the likes of Tej Pratap”. He said, “As for the NDA leaving ghosts behind for Tej, there is no need to do so. Lalu Prasad and his relatives have terrorised Bihar for long. Are they any less terrifying than ghosts?”

JD(U) spokesperson Sanjay Singh said: “As long as Tej was minister, he enjoyed his stay at the government bungalow. Now that he has vacated it, he is calling it haunted.” RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said: “What Tej Pratap meant is that the ghost of the Grand Alliance government will keep haunting Nitish for betraying the 2015 Assembly poll mandate.”