Chirag Paswan crosses swords with Tejashwi over ‘blatant lies’

Chirag Paswan threatens legal action against Tejashwi Yadav over reservation comments, sparking controversy in Bihar politics.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan threatened legal action against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav for his alleged claim that Mr. Paswan “opposes reservation for affluent Dalits”.

Meanwhile, a group of Dalit activists on Friday “purified” Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar’s bust in Hajipur town claiming it was “desecrated” by Mr. Paswan on May 2 when he garlanded the bust.

“Tejashwi Yadav speaks blatant lies at rally after rally. He must stop it, else I may resort to legal action against him,” LJP(RV) chief Paswan said on Friday, taking umbrage over the RJD leader’s comments. Mr. Paswan, who filed his nomination papers for Hajipur (reserved) seat on Thursday, added: “It is a false statement. I challenge Mr. Yadav to show any evidence of me supporting the removal of reservation for affluent Dalits or Paswans”.

Both Mr. Paswan and Mr. Yadav have been friends for long. Their fathers, the late Ram Vilas Paswan and RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, too had enjoyed warm personal relations.

Mr. Paswan’s party LJP(RV) is a partner of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance along with the BJP and Janata Dal (United) in Bihar. It is contesting on five Lok Sabha seats, including the Hajipur (reserved) seat.

Constituting an estimated 5% of Bihar’s population (over 45.6 lakh), Paswans are considered politically influential and affluent among Dalits of the State. The late Bhola Paswan Shastri from the community had become Chief Minister of the State while Ram Vilas Paswan was an eight-time MP from Hajipur. According to the latest Bihar caste survey report, the Scheduled Castes (SCs) constitute 19.6% of the State’s population.

After death of Paswan senior in October 2020, his son is contesting the election from Hajipur to carry forward his political legacy. Mr. Paswan had won the last Lok Sabha election in 2019 from Jamui (reserved) seat which he vacated for his brother-in-law Arun Bharti this time. His estranged uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras had won the electioin from Hajipu in the 2019 election but under NDA’s seat-sharing arrangement, Mr. Paras was sidelined and Mr. Paswan’s LJP(RV) got five out of the total 40 seats in the State - Hajipur, Samastipur, Jamui (all reserved), Vaishali and Khagaria.