Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) leader Upendra Kushwaha on Monday put out an offer to Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Chirag Paswan to join hands, saying that there was no place for a leader like him in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Talking to the media in Bhagalpur after organisation secretary of Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) Santosh Kushwaha joined the RLSP, Kushwaha said that the party would welcome the move if Paswan decided to quit the NDA.
“There is no place for leaders of Dalits and extremely backward classes in the NDA, even if Paswan tore his chest to show his high regard for PM Narendra Modi like the legendry Hanuman,” said Kushwaha, who is the chief ministerial face of the front comprising Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Kushwaha, who opted out of the RJD-led Grand Alliance (GA) for various reasons like ‘adequate’ number of seats and inordinate delay in formulation of the common minimum programme, has formed the Grand Democratic Secular Front, which also comprises smaller parties like Samajwadi Janata Dal. The RLSP has announced its candidate for 104 seats, while the BSP and AIMIM would contest from 80 and 24 seats.
Kushwaha, who contested the last assembly elections under the NDA fold, said that Paswan, the son of former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, was showing one-sided love for the BJP, which was hardly showing any respect for his commitment. “Only those leaders can survive in the NDA, who can afford to bow their heads and indulge in flattery. It is high time he should come out and carry forward the legacy of his father,” said the RLSP chief.
{{/usCountry}}Kushwaha, who contested the last assembly elections under the NDA fold, said that Paswan, the son of former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, was showing one-sided love for the BJP, which was hardly showing any respect for his commitment. “Only those leaders can survive in the NDA, who can afford to bow their heads and indulge in flattery. It is high time he should come out and carry forward the legacy of his father,” said the RLSP chief.
{{/usCountry}}Paswan has been on the firing line of BJP leaders even since he compared himself to Hanuman and offered a platform to scores of disgruntled BJP and JD(U) leaders to fight the assembly polls on LJP tickets. BJP leader Prakash Javadekar and Bihar’s deputy CM Sushil Modi dubbed LJP as ‘vote-katwa’, while JD(U) leader KC Tyagi branded Paswan as ‘Kalyugi Hanuman’.