Wanted to cut off Ram Kripal Yadav's hands for joining BJP, says Misa Bharti

Former RJD member Ram Kripal had the fallout with Lalu and his daughter after being denied ticket to contest from Patliputra Lok Sabha seat.

PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti stirred a hornet's nest after claiming she wanted to chop off Union Minister Ram Kripal Yadav's hands for joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"He (Ram Kripal Yadav) used to cut the chaff. We had huge respect for him. However, we stopped respecting him when he went on to join hands with Sushil Kumar Modi. At that time I felt like cutting his hands from the same chaff cutting machine," Bharti said while addressing a gathering in Patna's Bikram area on January 16.

The RJD chief and his eldest daughter Bharti, who used to call Ram Kripal 'chacha' (uncle), had a fallout over contesting in Patliputra Lok Sabha constituency.

Ram Kripal, an ex-RJD member, was a close aide of Lalu Prasad. After being denied a ticket from Patliputra, he quit the party and joined BJP in 2014.

He went on to contest and win the Patliputra seat in Lok Sabha election 2014, defeating Bharti. 

The 61-year-old had endorsed PM Narendra Modi as "the man India is looking up to". 

"I have been a dedicated worker of the RJD for years but was forced to take this step, it was painful but I had no choice," he had said at the time.

Ram Kripal started his life as a shop owner and made his move slowly by entering politics at an urban body election to become the deputy mayor of Patna. He became a member of the Bihar Legislative Council in 1992, won a by-election to the Lok Sabha in 1993.