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 dying 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 part 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 received his head tonsured as an indication of bereavement, the Jamui MP could 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, could be heard bantering together with his associates about folks having “completely different textures of hair”.
“You folks will do the lower 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 Info and Public Relations Division Minister, got here out with an announcement 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 capturing instantly after their father’s dying,” 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 performing,” 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 record of my occasion candidates inside six hours of my father’s dying. I needed to fulfil all my duties in capability of the occasion president with out stepping out of my dwelling for 10 days. So I had no selection however to shoot the video for digital marketing campaign,” he tweeted.
“Do I’ve to show to Nitish Kumar how a lot grief the dying of Papa has triggered me,” Paswan requested indignantly in one other tweet and added “I had been capturing movies every day. What different choice did I’ve, at a time when 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 night time throughout immersion of Durga idols, killing one particular person and injuring many.
Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal, whose occasion was mentioned to be tacitly approving of Paswan’s riot earlier than deciding to drop him like a scorching potato, reacted with bemusement.
“I can solely say Chirag Paswan is a effective actor. A purpose why motion pictures have been his first selection,” Jaiswal mentioned with a smirk when requested in regards to 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 say that the incumbent chief minister’s return to energy was “not possible”.
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