New Delhi: Chirag Paswan, the embittered leader of one of the factions of the Lok Janshakti Party has approached the Delhi high court challenging Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s decision to recognise his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras as the leader of the party in the House.
Paras was inducted into the Union Cabinet on the same day, days after walking away with a significant chunk of the party’s Lok Sabha MPs.
Chirag tweeted four times in Hindi saying that while it was the Prime Minister’s prerogative to induct whoever he wishes into his cabinet, “but as far as LJP is concerned, Shri Paras ji is not a member of our party.”
As such, Chirag has argued, he cannot be considered an LJP minister.
लोकसभा अध्यक्ष के द्वारा पार्टी से निकाले गए सांसदों में से श्री पशु पति पारस जी को नेता सदन मानने के बाद लोक जनशक्ति पार्टी ने माननीय लोकसभा अध्यक्ष के समक्ष उनके फ़ैसले पर पुनः विचार याचिका दी थी जो अभी भी विचाराधीन है।
— युवा बिहारी चिराग पासवान (@iChiragPaswan) July 7, 2021
Stating that the party had never been in contention for a Cabinet berth, LJP principal general secretary Abdul Khalique echoed Chirag’s tweets when he told The Indian Express, “We have no issues at Paras being made a (Union) minister. But he cannot be treated as an LJP minister.”
LJP is still a part of the National Democratic Alliance at the Centre, even though Chirag had broken away and contested separately for the Bihar assembly elections in 2020.
Advocate Arvind Bajpai said he has filed the petition on behalf of Chirag Paswan and the Lok Janshakti Party challenging the Speaker’s decision.
He said the review of the decision was pending with the Speaker and despite reminders no action was taken, which pushed them to approach the high court. The lawyer said the petition is currently under scrutiny.
Paras has spent the larger part of his career under the shadow of his late brother and Chirag’s father Ram Vilas Paswan.
The petition has sought setting aside speaker’s June 14 circular showing the name of Paras as leader of Jan Lokshakti Party in the Lok Sabha.
It sought direction to that a corrigendum be issued by showing the name of Chirag Paswan as leader of the party in the House.
Change of leader in Lok Sabha is prerogative of particular party and in the present case, Article 26 of the Constitution of the petitioner no. 2 (party) provide that central parliamentary board will decide who would be leader, chief whip, etc. in the house or in assembly, the plea said.
It added that the entire action of respondent no. 1 is contrary to rules of Lok Sabha, procedure, practice, provision of constitution of petitioner no. 2, and opposed to the principle of natural justice.
Paras, who previously headed Lok Janshakti Party’s Bihar unit and is currently the national president of its breakaway faction, began his innings in 1978 as a Janata Party MLA from Alauli in his native Khagaria district, a seat formerly represented by the late Ram Vilas Paswan.
A cornered Chirag, who has challenged his uncle’s political coup before the Election Commission, had at a press conference in Patna on July 6 said that he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him not to induct Paras on the LJP quota.
(With PTI inputs)