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Chirag Paswan taunts JD (U), says he is still part of NDA
The JD (U) has not changed its opposition to the LJP after Chirag Paswan targeted it in the Bihar assembly election.
Thumbing his nose at the Janata Dal (United) which does not consider the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) a member of the NDA, LJP national president and Jamui MP Chirag Paswan insisted once again that he has full faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is very much a part of the ruling alliance at the Centre.
Paswan, who had been touring different parts of Bihar to meet families of those killed in different incidents, was talking to reporters in Jehanabad on Sunday. The LJP president, after a gap of nearly three months, also renewed his attack on chief minister Nitish Kumar on the law-and-order front.
“I have full faith in Prime Minister Modi. I was with the NDA yesterday and I am with the NDA even today,” he said while replying to a query on his absence from the NDA meeting held before the budget session of Parliament. “I was invited but skipped the meeting because of health reasons,” he said.
The JD (U) and Manjhi-led HAM-S had strongly objected to the invite extended to Paswan resulting in withdrawal of invitation.
JD (U) general secretary K C Tyagi said his party’s stand on the LJP has not changed.
“The LJP had worked against the NDA’s official candidates in the Assembly elections. It did not work merely against the JD (U) but also against candidates of the BJP and two other allies, Vikassheel Insaan Party and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular). This caused a lot of harm to the NDA. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had himself said (during the polls) the NDA in Bihar is working under chief minister Nitish Kumar’s leadership and this includes VIP and HAM. Therefore, we do not consider the LJP a part of the NDA,” Tyagi said.
Resentment within the NDA over the decision to invite Paswan to the meeting prompted its top leaders to dissuade him from attending the meeting, people familiar with the developments said.
BJP’s other alliance partner, HAM-S also objected to Paswan’s claim. “He is not a part of the NDA for us. The LJP stabbed the NDA in the back during the polls. So, on what basis is he claiming to be the part of the NDA?” said HAM-S spokesperson Danish Rizwan.
The LJP had walked out of the NDA in Bihar last year due to its opposition to Nitish Kumar and contested the state Assembly polls on its own. It put up candidates in all the seats where the JD(U) was in the fray while largely spared the BJP except in a few seats. Though the LJP could win only one seat in the Bihar polls, it inflicted serious damage on the JD(U), which saw its tally fall to 43 from 71. Paswan’s intransigence triggered a backlash from Kumar’s party, with some of its leaders questioning if the LJP could still be in the NDA at the Centre.
During his weekend tour of the state, Chirag Paswan renewed his attack on Nitish Kumar for the spurt in crime. He had recently written to the chief minister supporting the demand for a CBI inquiry into the killing of IndiGo station manager in the state capital.
