Cursed at for 'donating dirty kidney' to father for money, party ticket; left 'orphaned': Rohini
Patna (PTI): Claiming that she was "cursed at" for donating a "dirty kidney" to her father Lalu Prasad in exchange for money and a party ticket, Rohini Acharya on Sunday said "she has been made an orphan", and advised all married women to refrain from saving "your God-like father if he has a son".
In an emotional outburst, 47-year-old Acharya, in a series of posts on X, said that "may no household give birth to a girl with a fate like that of Rohini".
The posts came a day after her announcement that she was quitting the party and disowning her family, while putting the blame for the RJD's debacle in the recent Bihar polls on her brother Tejashwi Yadav's close aides – RJD's MP Sanjay Yadav, who hails from Haryana, and Rameez, who is from a political family in Uttar Pradesh.
"Yesterday, I was cursed at and told that I am dirty, and that I got my father to have my dirty kidney transplanted into him, took crores of rupees, bought a ticket, and then got that dirty kidney put in," Acharya, who had unsuccessfully contested the Saran Lok Sabha seat in last year's general elections, said.
A doctor by qualification, she had on Saturday announced that she was quitting politics and disowning her family, insisting that accountability be fixed for the party's poor performance in the recently held polls, in which the RJD won only 25 seats of the 243-strong Bihar assembly. She had also spoken bitterly of Sanjay and Rameez, alleging they claimed to be master strategists like 'Chanakya' but paid no heed to feedback from grassroots-level workers.
In an apparent dig at Tejashwi and his former personal assistant Sanjay Yadav, who has come to enjoy tremendous clout in party affairs, she said, "To all the married women, I will say that when there's a son in your maternal home, never, ever save your God-like father; instead, tell your brother, the son of that house, to get his own kidney or that of one of his Haryanvi friends transplanted."
"All sisters and daughters should look after their own homes and families, take care of their children and their in-laws' household without caring for their parents, think only about themselves," she added.
Acharya said she committed a "huge sin" by not looking after her family, which includes her three children, and not taking permission from her husband or in-laws before donating a kidney to her father during a transplant in Singapore a few years ago.
"I did what I did to save my God -- my father -- and today, the kidney is being called 'dirty'... May none of you ever make a mistake like mine, may no family ever have a daughter like Rohini," she added.
In another post, she alleged that she was verbally abused and a slipper was raised to hit her.
"Yesterday, a daughter, a sister, a married woman, a mother was humiliated, filthy abuses were hurled at her, a slipper was raised to hit her. I did not compromise on my self-respect, I did not surrender the truth, and solely because of this, I had to endure this insult... Yesterday, a daughter, out of compulsion, left behind her crying parents and sisters and came away; they tore me away from my maternal home... They left me orphaned," she added.
In her outbursts, Acharya has also been targeting another close aide of her brother, Rameez, who is said to be a son-in-law of Rizwan Zaheer, a Samajwadi Party leader and a former MP from Balrampur in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
She also shared a post, written by another user on X, in which it was claimed that both Zaheer and Rameez were facing murder cases and the former was currently lodged in jail.
No family member of Prasad's family has reacted to Acharya's public outbursts so far.
Meanwhile, state minister Santosh Kumar Suman, whose father Jitan Ram Manjhi is a Union minister and a former close associate of the RJD supremo, claimed to have been "aware, for some time, that all is not well in that family".
Speaking to reporters, Suman, who heads Hindustani Awam Morcha, said, "What was just a smoke until now has become a raging fire and is exploding like a bomb. All members of that family have vaulting ambitions and are busy pulling each other down. We have seen what happened in the case of Tej Pratap."
Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of the RJD supremo, was expelled from the party a few months ago by his father, and has since floated a new outfit, 'Janshakti Janata Dal', which was drubbed in the recent elections.
Tej Pratap Yadav has also been blaming Sanjay Yadav, whom he always calls 'Jaichand', for the troubles in his father's party and family.
The HAM, which has registered its best-ever performance in the recent polls, winning five of the six seats it had contested, elected Sikandra MLA Prafull Manjhi as its legislative party leader.
Suman advised Tejashwi Yadav to "inculcate a bit of sensitivity, only then can he aspire to be a leader of the people. Apparently, he has been blamed for the party's debacle and he has reacted with the aggression that has become a characteristic of the RJD. How sad it is to see a daughter and a sister being humiliated in her own family".
The RJD, which was earlier the single-largest party, with a 70-plus tally in the outgoing assembly, has finished with a dismal figure of 25 in the recent polls, which were fought by the INDIA bloc with Yadav as the chief ministerial candidate.
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Women’s Reservation Bill: K'taka CM accuses PM Modi of adopting 'double standard'
Mysuru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of adopting a “double standard” on women’s reservation, alleging that the Centre had delayed implementation despite having the opportunity to act earlier.
Addressing reporters here, Siddaramaiah said the BJP and Modi had earlier opposed welfare guarantees and were now replicating them, while also questioning the timing and intent behind the women’s reservation move.
“That’s what I call double standards. Narendra Modi is not for social justice. If he was, this would have been done long ago. How many years has he been in power? It’s been 12 years. Why hasn’t it been done so far?” he asked.
The Chief Minister reiterated that the Congress had consistently supported women’s reservation and accused the Centre of "politicising" the issue.
“We spoke about women’s reservation. The Prime Minister asked me what our stand was. I said we are in favour of women’s reservation,” he said, referring to recent discussions with the PM.
He maintained that delimitation should only be carried out after a fresh Census to ensure equitable representation among states.
“In my view, delimitation should be done after a new census. That is why we opposed it. We have not opposed women’s reservation. We have always supported it,” he said.
Highlighting Congress’ past role, he said, “Who brought the 73rd and 74th amendments? Rajiv Gandhi and the Congress party. Those amendments ensured 50 per cent reservation for women in local bodies. Why would we oppose it?”
Siddaramaiah further questioned the union government’s delay in implementation. “Narendra Modi indulged in politics and got it passed in 2023. Why didn’t he implement it immediately? Then why did he wait so long? He could have implemented it immediately. If he is committed to women’s reservation, he should have implemented it,” he said.
On the linkage between delimitation and reservation, he asked, “Why did the Centre link it with delimitation? Why did it go for a constitutional amendment?” adding that such a move could disadvantage southern states that have successfully controlled population growth.
“Southern states have controlled population well, but northern states haven’t. Naturally, it benefits them and disadvantages us,” he said.
Responding to BJP’s criticism that women would “teach Congress a lesson,” Siddaramaiah said, “They are doing politics. If Modi had brought this earlier, who would have opposed women’s reservation?”
On electoral prospects elsewhere, he said he had no direct information on Tamil Nadu but was optimistic about ruling DMK's victory.
"According to the information I have, DMK and its alliance are likely to win,” while asserting that Kerala would also be won by the opposition.
In a major setback to the BJP-led Central government, a Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated on Friday, with the ruling dispensation asserting that the struggle to give the rights to women will continue.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill in Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-third majority.
According to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
