'Dance or be suspended' row: Tej Pratap Yadav blames BJP, RSS, and media for controversy

Patna (Bihar) [India], March 16 (ANI): Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Bihar Minister Tej Pratap Yadav, amid backlash over his "dance or be suspended" remark to a policeman during Holi celebrations, on Saturday accused the BJP, RSS, and the media of "politicizing the festival and spreading hatred."
"Don't mind, it's Holi... Even this festival of mutual brotherhood has been given a new color of hatred by the BJP, RSS, and their lapdog media...," Yadav posted on X in Hindi, along with a cartoon mocking media organizations.

बुरा न मानो होली है.....आपसी भाईचारे के इस पर्व को भी बीजेपी और आरएसएस के साथ ही इनकी ये गोदी मीडिया ने होली में आज नफरत का एक नया रंग दे दिया है...पुलिस वाले भाई हो या कोई विरोधी दल के नेता सबसे भाईचारे और उत्साह के साथ बुरा न मानो होली पर्व मनाने पर भी सियासत करना यही इनका धर्म… pic.twitter.com/THCzFgu0Vl

— Tej Pratap Yadav (@TejYadav14) March 15, 2025

"Doing politics over celebrating Holi with police personnel or any opposition leader has become their religion. The people of the country will soon teach them a lesson," he added.
Yadav's remarks come amid backlash over a controversial video in which he was seen asking a policeman to "dance or be suspended" during a Holi celebration at his official residence in Patna on Friday, March 14.
In the video, which went viral, Yadav could be heard telling a police officer: "Nahi thumka lagaoge to suspend kar diye jaoge" (If you don't dance, you will be suspended).
The statement drew sharp criticism from BJP leaders, including MP Dinesh Sharma, who slammed the RJD leader for disrespecting the police.
"He (Tej Pratap) will never get the right to suspend anyone. And he belongs to a family that insults the police and the uniform... Inka gharana natak nautanki ke liye theek hai (their family is only fit for drama), they would be considered unfit to run the government," Sharma told ANI.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed that Tej Pratap made the law dance to his tunes.
"Like father, like son. Father was the chief minister, the family was in power, and Bihar was kept in jungle raj. He made the law dance to his tunes. Now, he is out of power, but his DNA is the same: he wants to bring back Jungle Raj. Instead of respecting the law and the person wearing the uniform, the way Tej Pratap Yadav has insulted the person wearing the uniform shows that Jungle Raj is in his mindset and DNA, but he should understand that Bihar has changed now. Now there is good governance here," Poonawalla said.
Retired senior police officers have also condemned the comments by the RJD leader, calling it an "insult" and demanding action against him.
Ajay Kumar Singh, a retired Delhi Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), condemned the remarks, urging authorities to take action against the RJD leader while stressing that no action should be taken against the officer, as he was merely following orders.
"The uniform has dignity, and we have a code of conduct. It is clearly mentioned in the police manual that police personnel must not act against the code of conduct. Tej Pratap is behaving like an imposter; saying such things to your own security is an insult to the police," the former Delhi ACP told ANI.
Further criticizing Yadav's behaviour, Singh added, "We are hurt by this act...The policeman is not at fault--he simply followed orders. Taking action against him would be unfair and unacceptable." (ANI)