He jokes, talks about ‘cuts and edits’ in Bollywood parlance, and even the ‘texture’ of hair, as he stands in entrance of the smiling portrait of his father Ram Vilas Paswan.
A purported video of LJP president Chirag Paswan rehearsing for a video message a day after the demise of his father, one of many foremost Dalit leaders Bihar produced after Jagjivan Ram, has gone viral.
The 37 years previous LJP chief, embarrassed over the event that got here lower than 24 hours earlier than Bihar votes within the first section of meeting polls, reacted with indignation and accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of “stooping so low”, suggesting that he suspected the JD(U) president’s hand within the damaging video.
Within the almost two-minute clip, shot earlier than he obtained his head tonsured as an indication of bereavement, the Jamui MP might be seen standing in entrance of a garlanded portrait of his late father, donning white garments worn as a part of mourning.
Chirag, who has pulled out of the NDA in Bihar vowing to oust Nitish Kumar from energy whereas, paradoxically, serving to his junior ally BJP within the state to type the subsequent authorities, might be heard bantering together with his associates about folks having “completely different textures of hair”.
“You folks will do the minimize and edit half. I’ll embrace a line about our candidates (within the video),” Chirag Paswan is purportedly seen as telling the digicam crew whereas asking if a single or a double digicam was getting used.
Senior JD(U) chief Neeraj Kumar, who can also be the state’s Data and Public Relations Division Minister, got here out with a press release dripping with sarcasm.
“It has been our parampara (custom), our sanskaar (worth system) to serve our fathers. However take a look at actors of the brand new era who get busy with taking pictures instantly after their father’s demise,” Kumar mentioned, with out naming anyone, however clearly taking a swipe at Chirag’s unsuccessful try to make it in Bollywood earlier than becoming a member of politics.
He additionally mentioned the video offered “a shameful aspect of dynasty politics the place one’s personal father turns into a device for setting political agenda”.
“Take to serving the folks, mister. Politics is about onerous actuality, not the make-believe world of appearing,” Kumar added, twisting the knife.
The LJP chief got here out with a flurry of tweets alleging that the controversy had been triggered on the behest of the Bihar chief minister to “divert public consideration”.
“I needed to launch the primary listing of my get together candidates inside six hours of my father’s demise. I needed to fulfil all my duties in capability of the get together president with out stepping out of my residence for 10 days. So I had no alternative however to shoot the video for a digital marketing campaign,” he tweeted.
“Do I’ve to show to Nitish Kumar how a lot grief the demise of Papa has brought on me,” Paswan requested indignantly in one other tweet and added, “I had been taking pictures movies every day. What different possibility did I’ve, at a time when the marketing campaign for elections was choosing up”.
“I had by no means imagined that the Chief Minister can stoop so low. I’m appalled. This try at diverting public consideration from the incident at Munger wouldn’t achieve success,” mentioned the LJP chief referring to the violence that rocked the Bihar district Monday evening throughout immersion of Durga idols, killing one particular person and injuring many.
Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal, whose get together was mentioned to be tacitly approving of Paswan’s rebel earlier than deciding to drop him like a sizzling potato, reacted with bemusement.
“I can solely say Chirag Paswan is a fantastic actor. A purpose why films had been his first alternative,” Jaiswal mentioned with a smirk when requested concerning the video.
“The folks of the state won’t ever forgive this,” asserted Paswan, ending his tweet with the hashtag “asambhavNitish”, apparently looking for to claim that the incumbent chief minister’s return to energy was “unattainable”.
