Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, September 20:
Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Chirag Paswan’s statement from the bedside of his ailing father and union food and consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan would have an adverse impact on the health of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of Bihar elections.
“Nitish Kumar was following all the programmes agreed between him and RJD president Lalu Yadav in 2015 assembly elections,” he said, creating a political storm in the NDA that rules Bihar under Nitish Kumar. While senior Paswan is recuperating in ICU, junior Paswan’s move is seen as a revolt in NDA.
In an open letter to the party workers on Sunday from New Delhi, Chirag said, “Papa is sick in ICU. I cannot leave him.” According to Chirag’s letter, for the last three weeks Ram Vilas Paswan was under treatment in the hospital.
In his emotional letter, he said “I am in the hospital; watching Papa fighting against the disease daily. I also get disturbed to see him on the hospital bed. Papa told me to go to Patna and meet the workers, but I cannot leave him alone in the ICU.”
Chirag said his father had been ignoring his health problems and on his advice he went to the hospital on August 28. He was keen that everyone got food during the Corona crisis and ignored his health while working to ensure it.
Asserting that there was no talks on seat sharing with any leader or any party so far, he took a dig at Nitish Kumar and said 2015 alliance between JDU and RJD was different and the seven point programmes started by Nitish Kumar was the decision of JDU-RJD alliance government and not of NDA.
The seven resolutions of Nitish Kumar are the product of his alliance with Lalu Prasad, Chirag said and told the workers LJP would work on its independent agenda of Bihar first, Bihari first.
He directed the party workers to go to the constituencies and work for the LJP candidates in his absence. Chirag said he had told the members of the parliamentary board of the party last week that till now, there was no negotiation with the NDA partners–BJP or JDU on seat sharing for the ensuing assembly elections.
Last week, Ram Vilas Paswan had issued a statement from the hospital bed declaring he was strongly with the decisions of his son and all statements of Chirag had his full support.
