Nitish Kumar breaks silence on LJP split; says 'Paswan speaking against me for publicity'

Breaking his silence on Chirag Paswan's tirade against him, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar claimed that the LJP president was making these comments to gain publicity. The war of words between the two leaders started during the 2020 Bihar Assembly election campaign when Paswan attacked Kumar while heaping praises on PM Modi. Though LJP won only one seat in the polls with a vote share of 5.66%, it hurt JD(U)'s prospects in 32 constituencies. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, the Bihar CM affirmed that his party had no role to play in the recent split in LJP.

"We don't have any role. This is their internal matter. He speaks against me for publicity. We have nothing to do with it," Bihar CM Nitish Kumar remarked. 

Chirag Paswan launches blistering attack on Nitish Kumar

The trouble 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. Penning an emotional letter on Monday, Chirag Paswan launched a blistering attack on Nitish Kumar, alleging his role in poaching party leaders. He stressed that LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan had never compromised with Kumar throughout his political career and listed examples to buttress his case. Alleging that JD(U) had tried unsuccessfully to defeat the 6 LJP candidates in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he added that the Bihar CM had displayed arrogance by pretending to not know about Ram Vilas Paswan's ill health. 

LJP chief Chirag Paswan remarked, "In the February 2005 election, 29 LJP MLAs were poached along with our state president. In the November 2005 election, JD(U) poached all our legislators. After that, JD(U) poached our lone MLA after the 2020 polls and now it has repeated its policy of divide and rule by poaching 5 of our MPs. Nitish Kumar tried to finish Ram Vilas Paswan politically many times and the division between the Dalits and Mahadalits is one example."