Chirag Paswan, a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, has caused a flutter with his recent statement. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief said that he would choose to give up his ministerial berth instead of compromise on his principles, in keeping with the precedent set by his late father Ram Vilas Paswan.
Paswan made this remark at a function of the party's SC/ST cell in Patna on Monday evening, even as he maintained that he "will be in the NDA till Narendra Modi is my Prime Minister".
'Will not hesitate to renounce....'
Responding to questions from journalists about his cryptic remark in his speech, "I will not hesitate to renounce (laat maar denge) my ministerial berth like my father did", the young leader claimed he was speaking about the Congress-led UPA.
"My father was a minister in the UPA government too. And too many things took place back then which were detrimental to the interests of Dalits. Even pictures of Baba Saheb Ambedkar were not put up at public events. So we parted ways," said Paswan, who is understood to have played an instrumental role in getting his father to agree to a realignment with the BJP-led NDA ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Chirag Paswan, while praising PM Modi, highlighted the government's sensitivity toward his concerns regarding Dalit issues. He specifically mentioned the Centre's position on the "creamy layer" policy and lateral entry into the bureaucracy as examples of how the current regime has been attentive to addressing the needs of the Dalit community.
Why did Chirag gave such statement?
However, sources in the NDA as well as the INDIA bloc here were of the view that there was more to Paswan's rhetoric in his speech than the anodyne explanation he offered later.
New agency PTI sources believe that Chirag Paswan is trying to strengthen his base and come out of the shadow of the BJP. It is also being speculated that Chirag is trying to convey to the BJP leadership that he is not happy with the closeness of the BJP leadership with his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras who had split his late father's Lok Janshakti Party and with whom he has a running feud.
(With PTI inputs)
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