'Ignored' by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Chirag Paswan demands CMP ahead of polls

PATNA: LJP chief Chirag Paswan created ripples within the NDA on Monday by claiming that the JD (U) national president and chief minister, Nitish Kumar, has been “completely ignoring him” and hence he is left with no option but to seek a common minimum programme (CMP) for the NDA ahead of the state election.

He also repeated his demand to defer the Bihar polls owing to the Covid-19 pandemic , but iterated that LJP is prepared to fight on all 243 seats in the state.

“Of late, CM has been completely ignoring LJP and me. The situation was better till Pashupati Kumar Paras ji (Chirag’s uncle) was state minister. I was able to raise the views and demands of our party in the state cabinet. However, our communication with the Nitish-government deteriorated after he went to Lok Sabha and the situation worsened after I launched the Bihari First, Bihari First Yatra in February this year,” Chirag told TOI on Monday.

The Jamui MP further said programmes such as Jal Jeevan Hariyali and Seven Resolves are JD (U) programmes so CMP is a must to incorporate and safeguard the vision and interest of each ally.

Chirag has written several letters to CM NItish in the past few weeks on a range of issues, including ‘poor’ handling of returnee migrants and students, backlog in issuance of ration cards as well as Covid-19 management in Bihar.

“The CM never replied to any of my letters. I have not been able to meet him. I am not even able to contact him. I have been completely ignored by him,” Chirag said.

Claiming that this lack of communication is the reason behind his demand for CMP, Chirag said, “I am concerned what will happen if NDA wins and he becomes CM again. My party’s vision and agenda for development of Bihar will continue to be ignored. So to get proper attention post elections, I very strongly demand a CMP for NDA. The CMP will have the vision of all constituents of NDA and whoever forms the government will be bound by it.”

Asked what steps he is willing to take if his CMP proposal is not accepted, Chirag said, “My party will cross the bridge, when we come to it.”

Chirag has also been asking the Election Commission to defer the assembly polls in Bihar. “Bihar is faced with the double whammy of Covid-19 and floods. When it is time to save people’s lives, how can we hold elections and put their lives at risk? Moreover, voter turnout may plunge as people may be scared of coming to polling booths,” he said.

Chirag went on to say that President’s Rule in Bihar is a feasible option if the pandemic does not subside and elections have to be deffered.

On Covid-19 management in Bihar, the two-time MP from Jamui said, “It could have been much better. Latest reports suggest that testing per million is still very low in Bihar and it ranks third in terms of spread of the virus. It is known to everyone that healthcare infrastructure is poor in Bihar and I hope the CM is taking the correct steps to tackle this crisis.”

He added, “The situation drastically improved in Delhi after Union home minister Amit Shah directly intervened in Covid management. I would want the same for Bihar, too, as the situation is not good here.”

JD (U), however, dismissed the allegations. “The allegations are baseless. All constituents have been given their due respect. As far as CMP is concerned, we are in the last phase of electioneering and it would be better if such things are discussed post-election,” JD (U) spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said.

Another JD(U) national-level functionary said on condition of anonymity that it's BJP which should reply to the demand of CMP as "the LJP is in alliance with them not us".

BJP’s state general secretary Devesh Kumar said, “Our national president J P Nadda Ji has made it clear that we will contest the Bihar election in alliance with JD (U) and LJP. The alliance is based on complete understanding among all. There can be minor ruptures but they get resolved.”