Ahead of Cabinet rejig, Chirag Paswan strongly objects to Pashupati Paras' induction

Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets an all-new team of cabinet ministers, ousted Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) President Chirag Paswan once again opposed the induction of his uncle Pashupati Paras in the Union Cabinet on the party quota.

"Pashupati Kumar has already been expelled from the LJP for betraying the party and its top leadership. The party strongly objects his inclusion in the Union Cabinet," Paswan tweeted on Wednesday. 

The Prime Minister has the right to choose who he includes in his team. But as far as LJP is concerned, Paras is not a member of our party, he said.

"In view of the works he has done recently, like breaking the party, the LJP has severed all ties with him. If Paras is appointed as a Union minister formed his faction, the LJP has nothing to do it," added Paswan. 

The ousted leader also informed that his party has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court against the decision of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, in which "expelled" MP Pashupati Paras was considered the leader of the LJP in the House.

The Union Cabinet expansion is set to take place on July 7 and will be the first cabinet reshuffle after the Narendra Modi government returned to power for the second time in 2019. Several new faces, including LJP leader Pashupati Kumar Paras are likely to be inducted in the Modi cabinet for the first time.

LJP family feud

Trouble ensued within LJP started when Pashupati Kumar Paras and 4 other Lok Sabha MPs—Choudhary Mehboob Ali Kaiser, Veena Devi, Prince Raj, and Chandan Singh—urged Birla to remove Paswan as the Parliamentary Party leader in Lok Sabha on June 13. Thereafter, the Lower House Secretariat formally notified Paras, Kaiser and Singh as the Leader, Deputy Leader and Chief Whip respectively. The rift intensified on June 15 after the Paras camp removed Chirag Paswan from the LJP president's position citing the principle of 'One Man, One Post'.

In response, the Jamui MP sacked the aforesaid MPs, challenged the Speaker's decision and convened a national executive meeting that reposed faith in his leadership. He emphasised that LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan had never compromised with Kumar throughout his political career and listed examples to buttress his case.