Pashupati Kumar Paras appointed LJP national president

Patna (Bihar) [India], June 17 (ANI): Chirag Paswan was replaced as Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) national president on Thursday by his uncle and MP Pashupati Kumar Paras, party MP Chandan Singh said.
On Sunday, Pashupati Kumar Paras, the younger brother of LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan along with five other MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and handed over a letter to him seeking removal of Chirag Paswan as party chief and as the Lok Sabha Parliamentary party leader.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accepted Paras as the floor leader of the LJP in the lower house. In a revised list of revised list of floor leaders of parties on Monday Paras was listed as the Lok Sabha LJP leader.
On Wednesday, Chirag Paswan too wrote to Birla stating that the decision of announcing Pashupati as leader of LJP in the Lower House was contrary to the provisions of the party's Constitution. Chirag also requested the Lok Sabha Speaker to issue a new circular in his favour as leader of LJP in the House.
Paras and Chirag Paswan fallout has been attributed to a range of issues including the former's dissatisfaction with his nephew's decision to break away from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NA) in the Bihar election.
Meanwhile, Paras on Wednesday took a dig at the junior Paswan, saying the latter's decision not to contest last year's Bihar assembly polls as part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance was a reason for the party's present problems.
Pashupati said that the party had performed well when he was the party's Bihar unit chief during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls but was later removed.
Chirag Paswan also broke his silence on the matter and accused Janata Dal (United) of breaking his party while adding that he is the "son of a lion" and will continue to fight.
Paswan said some people, especially in the JDU had been attempting to engineer a split in the LJP even ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls.
Chirag Paswan said that he had looked up to his uncle Pashupati after the passing away of his father Ram Vilas Paswan but felt "orphaned" after his unlce Paras left him.
LJP was formed by former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in 2000. Paswan, a heavyweight leader in Bihar politics, passed away in October 2020. (ANI)