Demonetisation and GST issues only for the Opposition, not the people: LJP leader Chirag Paswan

Chirag Paswan at the Jakai rally with CM Nitish Kumar

Bihar, which has 40 Lok Sabha seats, is heading to polls in seven phases starting April 11. Our correspondent on Sunday travelled to Jamui, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan's constituency, and spent a day with the young leader.

Paswan is contesting from Jamui for the second time. In 2014, he won the election by a decent margin.  However, this time, winning from the seat may not be as easy courtesy the Mahagathbandhan.

For Jamui, Sunday was an important day. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was heading to the constituency, going to polls on April 11, to campaign in favour of Chirag Paswan.

Chirag's "kafila" started from Jamui and headed to Chakai, a distance of 80 km.

Supporters en route greeted Chirag with flowers.  Meanwhile, in discussion with Moneycontrol, he talked about development work done in his constituency.  He said work on a medical college had begun and they had received approval for a Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV).

Chirag stated that every MP wanted a KV in their constituency, hence this was a big achievement. Jamui became a district around 25 years ago, but it lacked even basic amenities. He said construction of the building for KV had already started, and "investment is around Rs 19 crore".

"Along with this, we might be the only adarsh gram connected via railways," he said.

Jamui is now the fastest-growing district in the state and was named among the top five in the entire country by Niti Aayog, the leader added.

His 'kafila' soon reached Jakai. The stage was set for CM Nitish Kumar.  As soon as the veteran leader's helicopter arrived, party workers started chanting 'Nitish Kumar Zindabad'.

Chirag had a one-movie stint in Bollywood and he uses the experience to his advantage. He speaks chaste Hindi and has a strong voice. In his speech, he promised to make Jamui a world-famous constituency.

Nitish Kumar also praised Chirag's oratory.

From this meeting, Chirag left for Tarapur, almost 70 km from Jakai.

On this stretch of the journey, we talked to him about his criticism of demonetization and GST. He had even written a letter to the Finance Ministry. He smiled and said,  "I wasn't critical about demonetisation, but as an MP, I needed to know the answers because when I used to come back to my constituency, people asked me questions. I thought as an MP, it is my right to know the effects of certain policies which we have implemented. Demonetisation was definitely one of the biggest policies. I am very happy that the Finance Minister gave a written reply of almost four pages, which I uploaded on my Twitter handle and Facebook. That was pretty much satisfactory. Having said that, I don't think that's an issue during these Lok Sabha elections. Nobody is talking about demonetisation, nobody is talking about GST, except the Opposition. They are trying to make this an issue. But when you go out in villages, this is not their agenda."

We then talked about dynasty politics, something the BJP has been very critical of. Considering Chirag himself belongs to a dynasty, his view would be interesting to hear.

The second-generation leader said this was one issue he wanted to address at length. He said, "I very humbly accept that I am a part of dynasty politics and there are many members of my family who are in this profession and hold major posts in the party. I accept all that criticism because this is something I can't shy away from.

Having said that, I don't think being the son of a big politician can be the only criteria for you to win or be able to sustain. I think eventually everything boils down to your capabilities. It might be a blessing that you come from a big political family, but to prove yourself and to sustain, you ought to have that capability and potential in you. Had that not been the case, I think all the previous PMs and kids of all the previous Presidents would have been holding strong posts in politics. But we don't even know the names of many.

I accept you tend to get an easy entry coming from a big family, but then eventually you are in that public domain. It's the people who are going to decide your faith. They are not going to decide it on which family you come from or what surname you hold. If that were the case, my sister, Misa Bharti, wouldn't have lost elections. It proves that no matter what family you come from, eventually it all boils down to your potential and capabilities."

The LJP leader, during the day, also met people of Sangrampur and Tarapur, where he did a small road show. From there, he headed to Asarganj.

As the day drew to an end, Chirag was asked his opinion of Bihar. He humbly replied, "It is quite an impressive state. I hope you like it here."