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Chirag Paswan says he may go to court if any LJP ‘rebel’ gets cabinet berth
It is being speculated that LJP MP from Hajipur, Pashupati Kumar Paras-- who was recognised as the leader of the party in Lok Sabha after he claimed to have removed Chirag from the position with the help of four other party MPs-- could be included in the expanded cabinet.
Chirag Paswan said on Tuesday that he might go to court if any rebel Lok Janshakti Party MP including his estranged uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras was included in a Union cabinet expansion, widely expected to take place soon.
The Jamui MP insisted that he was the legitimate president of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and he had not been consulted for induction of any party member into the Union cabinet as is required under the coalition norms.
“If any of them gets included in the cabinet from the party’s quota, I will certainly have an objection to it and may have to take legal recourse. If anyone is made minister as an independent or [a member of] some other party, I have no issue, as it is entirely the prerogative of the party. But as far as LJP is concerned, the party constitution allows me to be the president and the matter is before the election commission as well as the Lok Sabha speaker,” he said in Patna.
It is being speculated that LJP MP from Hajipur, Pashupati Kumar Paras-- who was recognised as the leader of the party in Lok Sabha after he claimed to have removed Chirag from the position with the help of four other party MPs-- could be included in the impending cabinet expansion- the first in the second term of Narendra Modi government.
Chirag said he has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he had suspended the rebel MPs in accordance with the party’s constitution and they don’t qualify for a cabinet berth from party quota.
“I have already written to PM Narendra Modi as well as the EC in this regard. A common practice is that the party president is consulted if anyone from the party has to be included in the cabinet,” he added.
PM Narendra Modi is expected to induct new ministers into his cabinet sometime this week and reshuffle a few existing ones while also accommodating allies such as the Janata Dal United and Apna Dal apart from others. While the LJP continues to be part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, it currently has no representation in the Union cabinet after the death of Chirag’s father late Ram Vilas Paswan, founder of LJP, before Bihar elections in 2020.
Chirag also said that his uncle engineered the split in the LJP to become minister at the behest of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. “It is ironic that Nitish Kumar always tried to insult my father, but my uncle chose to sit in his lap even at the cost of the family and party, which gave him everything,” he added.
Chirag alleged that Nitish Kumar was “known” for attempts to not only split the LJP, but also cause a rift among the Dalits, the socially backward community LJP represents.
Chirag said, “I am not eager to become a minister, as my first objective is to build the party as a viable alternative in Bihar”.
