PATNA: Former Union Minister and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) chief Pashupati Kumar Paras on Monday formally announced to quit the BJP-JD(U) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and said that the RLJP is no longer a part of the ruling alliance both in the state and at the centre.
Paras had resigned from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet after his party was denied any seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
On the other hand, his nephew and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan was allotted five seats in the parliamentary election.
Talking to media persons on the sidelines of B R Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, Paras said, “Henceforth we have no connections with NDA. We will go with the alliance which will provide us due respect and also a respectable number of seats in the assembly elections.”
When asked about his future plans, Paras said, “It will be revealed to you at an opportune time. First, we have announced to snap ties with NDA.”
During ‘dahi-chura bhoj (feast) in January this year, RJD chief and former chief minister Lalu Prasad had met Paras, giving enough indications of RLJP joining hands with RJD-led mahagathbandhan or grand alliance.
Paras, however, then asserted that he was still part of NDA. Ever since RLJP was denied seats in the Lok Sabha elections, Paras has been critical of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.
He even described the NDA government in Bihar as ‘Bimaroo’ (sick) and slammed Nitish for rising poverty and unemployment in the state.
Former Union Minister also tried to corner Bihar chief minister for his failure to mitigate migration, which forced the youth from the state to go to other states in search of livelihood.
He also highlighted the deteriorating law and order situation and poor quality of education in government-run schools. Paras did not lag behind in making his party’s stand clear on the Waqf Amendment Bill.
“The Bill is against the interests of members of the Muslim community. It has hurt the sentiments of Muslims who have been living in the country for ages and have also contributed to the freedom struggle,” he asserted.