Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's reference to Ram Vilas Paswan's "second marriage in Delhi" evoked an angry outbust from the late leader's son and political heir Chirag Paswan on Tuesday.
Kumar had muttered "biyahwa to dusra Dilli mein jaakar kiye the na" (married for the second time in Delhi) on the previous day in a sort of reflection on the Bihari roots of the father-son duo. He had also called Chirag a "bachcha" (kid). "It ill behoves the Chief Minister to make personal remarks about my father after his death," the young Jamui MP, born to his late father's second wife, said.
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"I have never stooped to this level. I have never spoken anything of the kind about Nitish Kumar who has not been transparent about his own personal life. My deceased father was like an open book," said Chirag who has been reaching out to his step-mother and step-sisters after being cornered by his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras.
Chirag, who is in Bihar to campaign for BJP candidates in the upcoming by-poll to two assembly segments, reminded Kumar "This kid had made you bite dust in last assembly polls". The allusion was to JD(U)'s drubbing in 2020 assembly polls when Chirag, who then headed the LJP founded by his father, revolted against Kumar and fielded candidates, many of them BJP rebels, in all seats contested by the chief minister's JD(U).
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Chirag had said he wanted to dislodge Kumar from power and help BJP form a government on its own, though the saffron party, which was then backing the JD(U) leader for another term in office, had distanced itself from his political brinkmanship.
Later, Paras split the LJP voicing disapproval of his nephew's activities and Chirag was left in political wilderness as the uncle was also accommodated in the union cabinet. Left in the lurch for over a year, Chirag has been wooed back by BJP which has got weakened in the state following snapping of ties by Kumar a couple of months ago.
(With PTI inputs)
