Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Saturday alleged that his opponents had hatched a "conspiracy" to blow him up "with a bomb", claiming they have made several attempts to "break" him.
Addressing a rally in Bihar's Munger district, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president launched sharp attacks on his estranged uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras and the RJD, now allied with him, though he refrained from naming anyone directly.
Paswan, after speaking at length about the failed attempts to "break him", said "now they have hatched a new conspiracy. They are now trying to blow me up with a bomb (bomb se uda denge)"."But they forget that Chirag Paswan is a tiger's cub (sher ka beta). He does not know how to bend and it is impossible to scare him", said the Union minister.
Members of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), when asked about their president's stunning claim, replied on condition of anonymity that "it may have been a reference to the FIR lodged recently against a social media troll. Chirag ji may have made use of it for rhetoric".
"Many people are upset with Chirag Paswan's 'Bihar First, Bihari First' slogan, which strikes at the roots of their caste politics. Such people had caused the state to sink in poverty and backwardness while in power and now, ahead of the Assembly polls, they are trying to fob people off with false promises", said the Hajipur MP, in remarks that may be seen as aimed at Prasad's younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, who is heading the INDIA bloc charge in the state.
Paswan, who had ended up isolated in the Lok Janshakti Party founded by his late father Ram Vilas Paswan, as a result of a split engineered by Paras, also spoke of the days he had to spend in political wilderness until he was redeemed by the BJP, with an offer of alliance in Lok Sabha polls last year.
"There have always been attempts by Chirag Paswan's detractors to stop him. They split his party and, later, got him dragged out of his house, leaving him to fend for himself on the streets. But nothing could break Chirag Paswan", said the 43-year-old leader, who of late has been referring to himself in the third person at public meetings.
*With Agency Inputs
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