PATNA: BJP MP Chhedi Paswan courted a fresh controversy on Monday when he pleaded for the chief minister's post from the saffron party in Bihar for the remaining two-and-a-half years of the NDA rule.
In an interview with a private news channel in New Delhi, Paswan, who represents Sasaram Lok Sabha seat in Rohtas district, said that BJP should have its chief minister in Bihar for two-and-a-half years.
Alleging that BJP legislators and workers were being ignored under NDA rule, Paswan said the BJP was the single largest party with 74 MLAs in the state legislative assembly. “Yet Nitish Kumar of JD-U is the chief minister,” he added.
The two-term MP went a step further and said that he (Nitish) may join hands with Dawood Ibrahim (notorious for his terror connections) to save his chair. “JD-U is number three in Bihar. Yet it has its CM,” he asserted.
He said there was no reason for the BJP to be under pressure from Nitish Kumar. “Nitish's pressure politics now stands exposed,” he said, adding that there was no need to work under pressure anymore.
The MP revealed that he had suggested the top leaders of the party to contest Assembly polls in 2020 solo. “Had we contested election on our own, we would have our CM,” he contended.
Paswan's comments came barely hours after BJP state chief Sanjay Jaiswal launched a fresh attack on Nitish. In a long Facebook post, Jaiswal said the Centre has allocated more funds to Bihar compared to other backward states.
He alleged that the state government has failed to utilise funds allocated to Bihar under the special package. “When special assistance is being given to Bihar, why there is a furore for special status,” he asked.
Jaiswal was reacting to the fresh demand for special status by JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh in Parliament. Moreover, JDU MLC Neeraj Kumar said, “Special status is our right. And we are demanding our rights.”