While the celebrations are on in full-swing for the upcoming wedding of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son Tej Pratap and Aishwarya Rai, the RJD supremo, out on parole, is laying low.
While the celebrations are on in full-swing for the upcoming wedding of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son Tej Pratap and Aishwarya Rai, the RJD supremo, out on parole, is laying low.
Lalu Prasad Yadav, who landed in Patna on Friday, has remained indoors, only meeting select people inside 10, Circular Road residence and overseeing preparations of his son’s wedding.
A close aide of the family told Hindustan Times: “Doctors have advised him not to take any physical strain due to his weak health. Lalu took rest in the morning and did attend some rituals in the day.”
On Friday, he only spoke to family friends and party leaders for a while. Later he attended a musical programme. It’s believed he’s being careful to ensure parole conditions aren’t breached and and is only spending time with his family.
Prasad is set to fly to Ranchi on Monday to report to jail authorities and would then visit the Asian Heart Institute in Mumbai for a check-up.
Lalu, who has been convicted in three fodder scam cases by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ranchi since December last year, is ailing and currently undergoing treatment at Rajendra Institute Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi.
The RJD chief, who has been serving a jail term in Birsa Munda central jail, was admitted to AIIMS on March 29 for specialised treatment. On April 30, the AIIMS later referred Lalu to RIMS.
Lalu's elder son Tej Pratap will get married to Aishwarya Rai, eldest daughter of RJD leader Chandrika Prasad Rai, on May 12 in Patna.
Over 20,000 people are expected to attend the grand wedding reception of Tej Pratap Yadav and his fiancée Aishwarya Rai on Saturday. Grand preparations are underway for the wedding with over 100 cooks preparing the meal for the function.
The menu includes gulab jamun, bundi malai, imarti, kadhai paneer, vegetable kofta, parwal, dum aloo, Kashmiri dal, vegetable biryani, meetha dahi vada, naan, missi roti, Punjabi kulcha, Punjabi chhole, pulao and the Bihari favourite litti chohkha.
The guest list for the celebration includes Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Vadra, Akhilesh Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Digvijaya Singh, Praful Patel, Ram Vilas Paswan and Shatrughan Sinha.
"We have received confirmation that Rahul and Priyanka will be coming to attend the wedding. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is also among the dignitaries invited from across the country. We hope to receive many more confirmations of visit by the end of the day," RJD national general secretary and MLA Bhola Yadav told reporters.
Fierce political rivalry spanning over decades notwithstanding, Kumar and Prasad have been close friends since the 1970s, when they had started off as student leaders and were active participants in the movement launched by Jayaprakash Narayan.
Prasad's eldest daughter and Rajya Sabha member Misa Bharti had said the invitation had been sent out even to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We would like them all to bless the young couple if their busy schedule permits them to do so," Bharti had said.
Meanwhile, the celebratory mood at the houses of former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, the groom's mother, and MLA Chandrika Rai, the bride's father, has grown more intense since Prasad's arrival.
The bungalows, barely a few hundred metres apart, have been decorated with flowers, and green chillies and lemons have been tied at several points to ward off evil eye.
Traditional Bihari wedding rituals like 'Haldi' and 'Matkor' were being performed amid rendition of folk tunes on shehnai and other musical instruments.
Last night, on the occasion of 'Mehndi', Rabri Devi, Misa, Tejaswi Yadav, and groom Tej Pratap Yadav, were captured by camera at 10 Circular road, wearing black glasses and dancing to the tune of popular songs from Bollywood movies
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav on his eldest son Tej Pratap Yadav's marriage.
The TMC chief also expressed happiness over RJD president getting bail from Jharkhand High Court for six weeks on medical ground in fodder scam cases.
"Heartiest congratulations @laluprasadrjd Lalu Ji on the happy occasion of the marriage of your son. Also happy too that you got bail. Best wishes to your family," Banerjee tweeted this afternoon.
Lalu’s eldest son is getting married to daughter of former RJD minister and MLA Chandrika Rai at Patna.
5 facts about Tej's fiancée Aishwarya:
1: Aishwarya Rai did her schooling from Bihar and stayed in Delhi for her higher education. Her father is Chandrika Rai, an ex-minister in Bihar government. So far, he has not confirmed the news.
2: The media reports suggest that the engagement ceremony of Tej Pratap and Aishwarya Rai will be held on April 18 at Maurya Hotel in Patna.
3: The big wedding will take place on May 12. The soon-to-be wife of Tej Partap is also known as Jhipsi in her family circle. The story goes that it was raining on the day she was born.
4: The reports also say that the Veterinary College ground in Patna has already been booked for May 12 event.
5: Aishwarya Rai’s grandfather Daroga Prasad Rai was Bihar Chief Minister from February 16, 1970 to December 22, 1970.
Rabri Devi had once famously said: “I want a girl who will take care of the house, respect elders like me and not those who go to malls and cinema halls (Cinema hall aur mall jane wali ladki nahi chahiye. Ghar chalaane wali, bade buzurg ka aadar karne wali, jaise ki hum hain, waisi ladki chahiye). We will have to wait and watch to see what she makes of her new daughter-in-law.
With inputs from PTI
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