Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s fresh salvos at the Bihar government over “deteriorating law and order” in the state and comments about his “political constraints” behind supporting the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government have not only invited strong reactions from ally Janata Dal (United) but also put the BJP in an uncomfortable position.
The Opposition has lapped up the opportunity, with the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) reiterating that the leader of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), an NDA constituent, was only “reinforcing” their claims that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was “not in control” in the state administration.
“He is endorsing our line. It is fashionable to criticise the RJD’s tenure as ‘jungle raj’, but the Gopal Khemka and Paras Hospital murders have presented a very distressing image to the country. The NDA must not adopt an ostrich-like attitude towards the surge in crimes,” said RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwari.
Echoing his view, Congress spokesperson Asit Nath Tiwari said Chirag’s concerns were “those of people in the state”.
Chirag in Gaya on Saturday expressed deep anguish at the “poor” law-and-order situation in the state. He said he felt sad about supporting a government under which crime had “spiralled out of control”.
“Bihar has seen a series of criminal incidents and the administration seems to be bowing down before the criminals… Arrests have been made but why do such incidents recur?… If such incidents keep happening, the state would see a dreadful situation,” said the Union Minister.
The LJP (RV) chief said even if the incidents were happening in election season to “malign the government”, it was the administration’s responsibility to keep them in check. “Either the administration is colluding with criminals or it is trying to cover up the crimes or it has become completely incompetent,” he said.
Chirag’s scathing attack is aimed at much more than bargaining or a “good number of seats” in the Assembly polls, scheduled for later this year. “It is about asserting ourselves as a political party, which has to answer to the cadre. He has been looking to expand the party’s voter base to around 15% to enable our party to become a key stakeholder in the state’s politics. We have the overwhelming support of the Paswan community (5.3%), while we can get a sizable chunk of votes from the Ravidas community (5.2%), and around 3% from the Mushahar and Bhuiyan voters. We are also working on consolidating upper-caste voters from the Bhumihar community,” said a state-level functionary of the LJP (RV).
The party’s Bihar in-charge and Jamui MP Arun Bharti said the criticism should be seen as the fulfilment of an ally’s role in a coalition by making constructive criticism and not as an “attack” on the state administration. Bharti told The Indian Express that increasing crimes were not “the concern of one party or individual but the pain of the entire state”.
“The fundamental duty of a coalition government is to prioritise people’s issues and take concrete steps to resolve them. The zero tolerance towards crime is not only part of the alliance’s common minimum programme but also a promise to the people. If Chirag is reminding the government of this, it is not against coalition ethics but rather an adherence to it,” he said.
Bharti said the purpose of the coalition was not just to remain in power but to make Bihar a safe and developed state. “It is the responsibility of allies to bring the concerns and suffering of society to the government’s notice, as fulfilling a responsibility is a true indicator of loyalty. Chirag’s statement is not criticism but an attempt to strengthen the alliance’s shared goals … Often, an ally questioning the government is seen as dissent or rebellion … the true spirit of coalitions demands that people’s voices are heard,” said the MP.
The JD(U), however, has not taken kindly to its ally’s words, with its chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar saying the LJP(RV) chief “wanted the best of both worlds” and was free to join an alliance with “tainted people” if he was not comfortable. “Why does he not have the courage to speak on law and order during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit?” he asked.
The BJP was more measured in its response. “The LJP(RV) has been our ally. With regard to recent law-and-order issues, the police have been dealing with them effectively. Chirag can discuss the issue with us on the right platform,” said spokesperson Manoj Sharma.
Even as Bharti indicated that Chirag himself might contest from any Assembly seat from the Shahbad (Bhojpur, Rohtas, Kaimur and Buxar) or Magadh (Gaya, Jehanabad, Aurangabad and Arwal) regions, the party is eyeing seats in the Saran, Siwan and Champaran belt in North Bihar, and Bhagalpur and Munger in South Bihar.
The JD(U), according to party insiders, is wary that Chirag’s party might be keen on contesting the seats where it had finished runner-up in the 2020 polls. The then united LJP had contested 134 of the state’s 243 seats alone but won only one. However, it ended up denting the JD(U) in several constituencies. At present, the LJP (RV) has five MPs and no MLAs since the lone winner, Raj Kumar Singh, defected to the JD(U) in 2021.