Bihar CM Nitish Kumar released ghosts in my bungalow, says Lalu’s son Tej Pratap Yadav

PATNA: Six months after he ceased to be a Bihar minister, RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav said he vacated his official bungalow last week as chief minister Nitish Kumar had let loose ghosts to haunt him out of it.

“I decided to vacate the bungalow because Nitish and deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi had released ghosts in it. The ghosts were haunting me,” Tej told reporters on Sunday.

The bungalow — 3, Deshratna Marg — was allotted to Tej after he became the health minister in the Nitish Kumar-led alliance government following the October-November 2015 election. The grand alliance of RJD, JD (U) and Congress had won 178 assembly seats in the House of 243, restricting the BJP to 53.

Around 20 months on, Nitish parted ways with the two allies and formed government in alliance with the BJP on July 27 last year. In August, the state building construction department (BCD) sent notices to the former RJD and Congress ministers, asking them to vacate their official bungalows.

Tej, incidentally, is known for his hyper-religious and superstitious beliefs. Sources close to him recalled a ‘dushman maaran jaap’ (chant of hymns to eliminate enemies) was organised at his bungalow in June last year when the central agencies were probing corruption charges against his family.

He is also said to have got the bungalow’s south-facing gate shut for good on the advice of vastu experts.

RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav said Tej decided to vacate the accommodation after receiving a second notice. An RJD source said the second notice in October last year had warned Tej of heavy penalty amounting to 15 times of the rent for the period of unauthorised stay.

BCD minister Maheshwar Hazari, however, said his department has not been informed by Tej that he had vacated the accommodation.