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Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan threatened legal action against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav for his alleged claim that Mr. Paswan “opposes reservation for affluent Dalits”.
Meanwhile, a group of Dalit activists on Friday “purified” Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar’s bust in Hajipur town claiming it was “desecrated” by Mr. Paswan on May 2 when he garlanded the bust.
“Tejashwi Yadav speaks blatant lies at rally after rally. He must stop it, else I may resort to legal action against him,” LJP(RV) chief Paswan said on Friday, taking umbrage over the RJD leader’s comments. Mr. Paswan, who filed his nomination papers for Hajipur (reserved) seat on Thursday, added: “It is a false statement. I challenge Mr. Yadav to show any evidence of me supporting the removal of reservation for affluent Dalits or Paswans”.
Both Mr. Paswan and Mr. Yadav have been friends for long. Their fathers, the late Ram Vilas Paswan and RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, too had enjoyed warm personal relations.
Mr. Paswan’s party LJP(RV) is a partner of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance along with the BJP and Janata Dal (United) in Bihar. It is contesting on five Lok Sabha seats, including the Hajipur (reserved) seat.
Constituting an estimated 5% of Bihar’s population (over 45.6 lakh), Paswans are considered politically influential and affluent among Dalits of the State. The late Bhola Paswan Shastri from the community had become Chief Minister of the State while Ram Vilas Paswan was an eight-time MP from Hajipur. According to the latest Bihar caste survey report, the Scheduled Castes (SCs) constitute 19.6% of the State’s population.
After death of Paswan senior in October 2020, his son is contesting the election from Hajipur to carry forward his political legacy. Mr. Paswan had won the last Lok Sabha election in 2019 from Jamui (reserved) seat which he vacated for his brother-in-law Arun Bharti this time. His estranged uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras had won the electioin from Hajipu in the 2019 election but under NDA’s seat-sharing arrangement, Mr. Paras was sidelined and Mr. Paswan’s LJP(RV) got five out of the total 40 seats in the State - Hajipur, Samastipur, Jamui (all reserved), Vaishali and Khagaria.
On Friday, a group of men claiming to be members of the Paswan community and Bhim Army purified a bust of Dr. Ambedkar at Anwarpur Chowk in Hajipur, pouring 51 litres of milk over it. “The bust of Babasaheb was desecrated after Chirag Paswan garlanded it on May 2 and touched it after filing his nomination papers. So, today, we purified the bust”, Chhotu Paswan, a member of the group told mediapersons in Hajipur.
After filing his nomination, Mr. Paswan had held a roadshow in Hajipur town and garlanded the Babasaheb’s bust. “Recently he [Mr. Paswan] had appealed to affluent members of the Paswan community to come out of the reservation benefits. He has been anti-Dalit,” alleged Mr. Chhotu Paswan. “Why Mr. Paswan has not given even a single party ticket to any member of the Paswan community?” he asked.
When reached for comment, Mr. Paswan said, “I’ve been fighting against such mindset. Babasaheb Ambedkar and my father too have been fighting against this mindset. For sure, such mindset is with the RJD and people associated with it and these are the people who have ruined Bihar”.
Hajipur goes to polls in the fifth phase on May 20.
