Paswan kicks off Bihar Assembly poll campaign

lok Janashakti Party (lJP) supremo and Union Minister of Food and Civil Supplies Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday kicked-off his campaign for the Assembly election due in October and asserted that the three parties in the NDA in Bihar will contest together under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and win 85 per cent of the Assembly seats.

Addressing an impressive gathering of party workers here, Paswan slammed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for knocking at the doors of PM Modi because of whom he severed the 17-year-old alliance with the BJP and later resigned as CM in order to escape meeting Modi. Paswan said his party is not only concentrating on Bihar but also on UP. “PM Modi advised me to give some attention to UP also. Our party is going to hold a Dalit Panchayat in Varanasi on April 6 to expand its base and mobilize the support of Dalits,” he announced.

lJP Parliamentary Board chief Chirag Paswan tried to mobilize the youth and students and told them that the three parties which ruled Bihar since Independence, Congress, RJD and JD(U), were responsible for their woeful condition. He added that not only the youths but these parties were also responsible for the backwardness of Bihar.  He said, “Nitish Kumar is not concerned about the students, teachers, minorities, Dalits, backward and upper castes and wants to remain in power by hook or by crook.” 

He referred to the firing on Muslims in Forbesganj and on tribals in Bagaha, death of children by consuming adulterated mid-day meal at Masrakh in Saran district, lathi-charge on students and on teachers and urged all those sections of society to avenge the brutalities in the coming Assembly election. “The 2015 Assembly election will write the destiny of all the sections when NDA will come to power,” he added. The junior Paswan, MP from Jamui, who batted for the land Acquisition Bill saying the suggestions made by his party had been incorporated by the PM in the Bill, also demanded constitution of a national youth commission as well as a separate budget for it. Chirag, who is seen as heir to Paswan in the party, declared that his party would not give tickets to those who have joined lJP only to seek a ticket. The party will take care of its dedicated workers and loyalists who remained with the party during good and bad days, he added.

Paswan also launched a toll-free number for the lJP’s membership drive and set a target of enrolling 25 lakh members before the Assembly election.

The Union Minister also announced that his Ministry will organise a Maha panchayat on food security on April 19 in Patna and invite leaders of all parties, Ministers, Government officials, dealers, rice millers, farmers and other stakeholders where his Ministry will clarify its stand on the supply of food grains to the State as per its requirements and Bihar’s inability to provide subsidized food grains to the needy people.