Patna: Union minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday voiced protest against Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind's (JUH) decision to boycott the ‘Iftaar’ party organised by the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president.
JUH chief Arshad Madani had on Saturday announced on X "as a token of protest, Jamiat Ulema e Hind will not take part in Iftaar, Eid Milan and other such functions organised by self-proclaimed secular leaders like Nitish Kumar, Chandrababu Naidu and Chirag Paswan".
Madani had accused them of keeping silent on “atrocities” against Muslims, besides alleging that "their duplicity has become evident with their equivocal stand on the Waqf Bill".
Paswan, who arrived here to oversee preparations for the ‘Iftaar’ being organised by his party on Monday, told reporters: "I have great respect for Madani sahib. I honour his decision. But, I would urge him to reflect a bit on whether our opponents like the RJD, self-proclaimed champions of Muslims, have been able to protect the interests of the minority community.”
The Hajipur MP pointed out that "my late father and political mentor Ram Vilas Paswan had once risked his entire political career to ensure that a Muslim became the chief minister of Bihar".
The allusion was to the events following the Bihar assembly polls of February, 2005, which had thrown up a hung House. The late Paswan was then in the Congress-led UPA and his Lok Janshakti Party had won close to 30 seats. The NDA, which included Nitish Kumar's JD(U), began to aggressively woo Paswan, who declared that he would support "any formation that promised to make a Muslim the chief minister".
However, the assembly was soon dissolved by the then Governor Buta Singh who claimed to have recommended dissolution to prevent horse trading, though the move was subsequently declared as "unconstitutional" by the Supreme Court.
Chirag Paswan also frowned upon "personal attacks" on Nitish Kumar, his partner in the NDA and the chief minister, whose "mental health" and the capacity to govern Bihar is being talked about in recent times.
The LJP(RV) president, however, expressed concern over the inability of Kumar, "who holds Home portfolio" to check incidents of crime, which were taking place "in remote villages as well as cities".
Paswan also underscored "targeted attacks against Dalits, especially the Paswan community" and claimed these were "politically motivated, with assembly elections just a few months away".
"Unfortunately, my party does not have a presence in the state legislature and is not a part of the government here. Our ability to intervene may be limited, but I am constantly in touch with the CM,” said the Union minister.