Patna: Union Minister and president of Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) Pashupati Kumar Paras has ruled out the possibility of merging his party with his estranged nephew Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) until the latter comes up with a public apology.
Pashupati Kumar Paras has demanded an apology from Chirag Paswan over his decision to fight 2020 Bihar Assembly election alone.
“There is no question of coming together with Chirag Paswan until he apologises publicly for what he did in 2020. His decision to fight elections alone, despite our advice against doing so, was wrong. I can think of reunion only if he tenders an apology publicly,” Pashupati Paras said.
Pashupati Paras, however, said that he did not have any problem with Chirag Paswan returning to the NDA fold. He claimed that Chirag Paswan had returned to the NDA only after the BJP took permission from him.
“I welcome Chirag’s party into the NDA, but it was BJP leader Nityanand Rai who spoke to me regarding taking back Chirag into the NDA. It was after I gave my approval that Chirag campaigned for the BJP in Mokama and Gopalganj by-elections”, Paras said
The Union Minister maintained that Chirag Paswan may have returned to the NDA, but that does not mean that he has forgiven him or was willing to merge his party with the LJP (R).
“Chirag will contest from Jamui from where he is MP presently. How can he contest from Hajipur ? I am sitting MP from Hajipur and will again fight elections from the same seat in 2024. Chirag may be heir of Ram Vilas Paswan’s wealth, but I am heir of his political legacy”, Pashupati Paras asserted.