Patna, Oct 11 (PTI) In an apparent change of tack, Union minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday charged the Cockroach Janta Party with promoting “anarchy” through protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged SIR irregularities and defended the “timely action” by Delhi Police.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president, whose recent statements on the SIR controversy had irked his NDA partners, was responding to queries from journalists about the unprecedented clampdown in the national capital a day ago.
“My party and I always welcome public movements if these are carried out peacefully. But the manner in which things were planned in Delhi yesterday, the aim was clearly to create anarchy. In such instances, it becomes imperative for the police to identify those involved in mischief and take timely action,” the Hajipur MP said.
Several CJP leaders had been detained amid an unprecedented security clampdown in Delhi, where more than 7,000 demonstrators were taken into custody at multiple locations which were raided by police as agitators tried to march towards Jantar Mantar.
Interestingly, Paswan had raised many eyebrows when, on the evening prior to the October 10 agitation, he appeared to mock the mobilisation of more than 20,000 personnel of the central paramilitary forces and cancellation of several trains heading for the national capital.
He had also said the government must listen to the younger generation and hold discussions with them to find solutions.
“How many trains and buses can you take off the roads? Do not harbour any illusions. These are the youth of India. They will show the way to the world. Who can stop them?”, the Union minister had told reporters in Sonepat.
The video went viral on social media and led to speculations that Paswan, who had last month refused to come out in support of the CEC, unlike the BJP, was drifting away from the NDA.
While stopping short of criticising the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, Paswan has been maintaining that “holding a government office, I shall not try to defend a constitutional authority”.
He has also been saying that the EC ought to “forcefully clarify” the misgivings about the mammoth exercise that have intensified since a series of recent newspaper reports.
The LJP(RV) chief’s statements have invited criticism from his cabinet colleague Jitan Ram Manjhi, who heads Hindustani Awam Morcha and vies with Paswan for assuming leadership of Dalits in Bihar.
Manjhi, who represents the Gaya Lok Sabha constituency, has been taking potshots at Paswan for appearing to be sympathetic towards “tilchatte”, the Hindi word for cockroaches.
Incidentally, the CJP derives its name from an oral remark by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who has voiced dismay that his utterances while hearing a petition had been twisted out of context.
However, when Paswan’s attention was drawn towards Manjhi’s remarks, he came up with the guarded response “my view is that in democracy, all are free to express their opinions but nobody should denigrate others by calling them cockroaches”.
The Hajipur MP, who calls himself the “Hanuman” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and maintains an anti-Congress stance despite equivocation on several issues, criticised Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for his recent agitations on the SIR issue.
“If you want to really meet the CEC, you should visit his office after getting an appointment. After all, did not the President call you when you sought time? But you are inconveniencing Delhi and its residents by your antics”, said Paswan, referring to Gandhi, who is scheduled to stage another demonstration on Monday when he is also expected to try meeting the CJI.
Dismissing Gandhi’s claim that the BJP and its allies were winning elections through “vote theft”, Paswan said, “the Congress is unwilling to accept that it has lost the trust of the people. If it really believes that elections have not been free and fair, let all its elected representatives resign”.
The BJP ally also accused the opposition party of expressing “selective outrage” and “remaining silent on allegations of sexual misconduct against one of its MPs who also happens to be a professor at JNU”.
The university had on Friday dismissed professor Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, a Congress MP from Manipur, over sexual harassment complaints, though he claimed that he was a victim of a “witch hunt“ and due process was not followed by the JNU administration.
Paswan said, in an obvious reference to late Indira Gandhi, “remaining silent on such an issue is shameful, particularly for a party that gave the country its first woman prime minister”.
The NDA partner dismissed the criticism from opposition parties like the RJD, which have questioned his outbursts over crimes against women in BJP-ruled Bihar while remaining unwilling to sever ties with the ruling coalition.
“We Paswans have traditionally been watchmen. So, while in any coalition, we consider our duty to be on guard against anything that could adversely affect the public perception of the alliance. Of course, if resignations would have helped things, Chirag Paswan would have been the first person to resign”, he asserted. PTI SUK BDC NAC BDC
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