Patna. Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader and Union Minister Chirag Paswan recently told the story of joining NDA and contesting Bihar elections in an interview with a television channel. In the same sequence, he said that we always had the option to stay outside and not go back into the alliance, but it is also true that I cannot stay away from my Prime Minister. On this, when the journalist asked why he could not stay away from the Prime Minister, Chirag Paswan smiled and said – “I love him a bit too much… I love him very much.” When Chirag Paswan expressed this sentiment towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he also remembered the story when his father Ram Vilas Paswan had threatened to consume poison if he went with the NDA. Chirag Paswan had recently revealed this in a conversation with a news agency.
Chirag Paswan’s revelation on joining NDA
In an interview given in July 2015, he told that when he had talked about joining NDA, his father had threatened to consume poison. Chirag told that Rahul Gandhi helped him in this decision, because it was because of him that he got the opportunity to reconsider this issue. Narrating the incident, Chirag Paswan said, I still remember the first reaction when I said about going with NDA. His response was – I will consume poison, but will not go with BJP.
Chirag remained silent on his father’s sharp reaction
It was in 2013 when the LJP leadership was considering the issue under what political equations should the alliance with UPA and Congress continue. Meanwhile, Chirag Paswan asked his father to go with NDA, but Ram Vilas Paswan initially gave a very sharp reaction and said that he will not go with BJP. According to Chirag, after that reaction, he did not have the courage to talk about this topic again for about three months, because his father’s reaction was emotional and quite sharp.
In the interview, Chirag Paswan revealed the story of joining NDA, Ram Vilas Paswan’s reaction and the role of Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi’s role in LJP joining NDA
Chirag Paswan also shared the story of Ram Vilas Paswan changing his mind and told that Rahul Gandhi’s working style also helped during that period. Chirag himself told that his father tried to meet Rahul Gandhi, but the meeting with Rahul Gandhi could not take place. Chirag indirectly said that Rahul Gandhi did not give him time to meet, which gave him an opportunity to again raise the issue of going to NDA. According to Chirag Paswan, this was the incident when the direction of the alliance was being decided politically, but Rahul Gandhi gave him the space to raise the issue of joining NDA later.
How did Ram Vilas Paswan’s decision change?
In the interview, Chirag mentioned the family tension behind his decision to join NDA before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Chirag told that when he suggested his father Ram Vilas Paswan (who was then a minister in the UPA government) to join NDA, Ram Vilas expressed strong objection. Recalling that period, Chirag said, “I still remember the first reaction when I talked about going with the NDA. His reaction was – I will take poison, but will not go with the BJP. Hearing this revelation, the journalist asked Chirag how he convinced his father, to which Chirag said that it was the most difficult task. He stressed that despite his father’s reluctance, circumstances and political changes ultimately changed the decision. Ram Vilas Paswan Worked under six Prime Ministers, but had to recognize the Modi wave in 2014.
LJP joined NDA in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. After this, a very special relationship was formed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ram Vilas Paswan.
Inclination towards NDA due to no meeting
Chirag also targeted Congress and Rahul Gandhi in the interview. He revealed that he and his father met Sonia Gandhi several times for three months from November 2013 to February 2014, but did not get an appointment with Rahul Gandhi. Chirag further said- Sonia ji kept saying that the meeting would be fixed with Rahul ji, but it never happened. Chirag believes that it was this ‘snub’ (ignorance) that pushed him towards NDA. Calling it an irony, Chirag Paswan said that if the meeting had taken place, he probably would have had to stay in UPA, but this gave him an opportunity to convince his father to join NDA.
