Patna: Union minister of food processing industries and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Pashupati Kumar Paras has always remained under the shadow of his elder brother late Ram Vilas Paswan and learned the art of politics from him. Paras was elected MLA eight times and was also a minister in the Bihar government. In 2019, he made his parliamentary debut from Hajipur and was inducted into the Union Cabinet this year. All this happened when he was locked in a bitter tussle with his nephew Chirag Paswan after the passing of Ram Vilas Paswan.
In an exclusive conversation with ETV Bharat Regional Editor Sachin Sharma, Paras spoke about the factional fight that erupted between Chirag and him and how he has complete control over the party.
Paras gave a diplomatic response when asked about whom he supports on the caste-based census. He stressed that he will support the consensus of NDA as being a small part of the alliance. He, however, pointed out that the NDA will surely reconsider the caste-based census.
Read: LJP’s Pashupati Paras seeks ‘Z Plus’ security citing life threats
Reacting to the attack on his cavalcade during the recent visit to Hajipur, Paras emphasised that the attack was not from the people of Hajipur nor are they upset with him. "People of Hajipur are not upset with me. I have been with my elder brother as his shadow since 1977. People witnessed how the ink was thrown on me apart from being waved black flags but failed to take note of the huge response of my supporters. A garland weighing five quintals was put on me. There were only a handful of people protesting against me," said Paras.
Paras stated that though Chirag had the claim on the wealth and property of his father but when it comes to Paswan's political succession he was the real heir. He also spoke on the control over the Paswan community, describing how much Ram Vilas used to trust him.
"It was my elder brother who had once said that I could be his successor. Then, I was not even a political person. But on the instruction of my elder brother I contested the election from Alauli assembly seat in 1977 and became a member of the Bihar legislative assembly for the first time. From 1977 to 2019, I continuously worked for the party. When my elder brother became a member of Rajya Sabha he chose me to contest from Hajipur, not his son," Paras asserted.
The younger brother of Ram Vilas revealed how Chirag yelled at him when he had issued a statement in support of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Paras said that he had issued the statement that Nitish was a good administrator and on the other hand Chirag wanted to send the Bihar CM to jail.
Read: EXCLUSIVE: Chirag must accept his mistake, says Union Minister Pashupati Paras
"I had said that Nitish had done good work on the law and order front and he was a good administrator. When Chirag came to know about my statement he got angry at me and asked why did I issue such a statement that Nitish was Sushsan Babu. I told him that what I said was correct after which he shouted at me and threatened to expel me from the party for six years calling himself LJP president. I also reacted sharply and said that if he does so, he will resign from Lok Sabha. After the demise of my elder brother, I have remained alone and since then the situation has worsened in the family," Paras said.
He also stressed that he is part of NDA and will remain with it in future as well. Paras said that he has a threat to his life and that's why he demanded 'Z-plus' security. Paras also revealed that people abuse him on the phone.
Paras alleged that his nephew Chirag has become a dictator and an autocratic person after which there was a need to change the leadership as the democratic set-up in the party was under threat.
The union minister said that if Chirag Paswan repents for his deeds, there are some possibilities for patch up. "If he accepts his mistake and self introspect, then there are chances. From day one, I have been saying that Chirag is like my son. He should accept his mistake and should also leave the company of people like Sourab Pandey. I must say that man is not powerful but time is. He must explain why he misbehaved with me. My relationship with my brother was like Ram and Lakshman. However, it's sad to say that within 15 days of his death, the family was broken," Paras said.
