"Paswan-ji's Blessings": Pashupati Paras Thanks Brother For Cabinet Berth

Pashupati Paras said Ram Vilas Paswan has contributed to his becoming a minister. "With the blessings of Paswan-ji, I have become a minister in the Government of India," he said.

Pashupati Kumar Paras, the new food processing minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, laid claim to the legacy of his brother Ram Vilas Paswan a day after oath. His new position, he told NDTV, is due to the "blessings" of his brother. "Paswan-ji has contributed to my becoming a minister. With the blessings of Paswan-ji, I have become a minister in the Government of India," said Mr Paras, who currently leads a splinter group of the Lok Janshakti Party formed by his brother. Ram Vilas Paswan, the minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, had died last year and Mr Paras was given the cabinet slot by the BJP,  foiling the ambitions of the late minister's son Chirag Paswan. Chirag Paswan was given charge of the party by Ram Vilas Paswan, making the line of succession clear.  But this has been called into question by the coup of Mr Paras. The battle for the Paswan legacy came out into the open last month, with five of the party's six MPs breaking away.