‘Shouldn’t Betray LJP’: Rebel MPs Expelled After Paswan’s Removal

Chirag Paswan took to Twitter to share a letter he had written to his uncle, Pashupati Kumar Paras, in March.

LJP leader Chirag Paswan arrives to meet party leader Pashupati Kumar Paras at his house in New Delhi, on Monday, 14 June. 

(Photo: Atul Yadav/PTI)

Chirag Paswan was removed as the national president of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) on Tuesday, 15 June, shortly after which the faction of the party led by him reportedly expelled five rebel MPs, including his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras.

Paswan's removal came a day after the five Lok Sabha MPs rebelled against him. The coup had been led by Paswan's uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras.

Paswan, meanwhile, took to Twitter on Tuesday to share a letter he had written to his uncle in March this year.

"I tried to keep the party made by my father as well as my family together, but failed. The party is like a mother, and a mother should not be betrayed. In a democracy, the public is the most important. I thank the people who have faith in the party. I am sharing an old letter," he wrote in his tweet.

Meanwhile, the faction led by Pashupati Kumar appointed Surajbhan Singh as the national working president of the party. He has also been handed the charge to conduct elections for the appointment of the party's national president.

'Needed You the Most’

The five rebel MP's who were removed by the Paswan-headed faction of the party are Pashupati Kumar Paras, Beena Devi, Chaudhary Mehboob Ali, Chandan Singh and Prince Raj.

The resolution printed on Chirag Paswan’s letterhead, still referring to him as the ‘national president’, announced the removal of the five MPs from the primary membership of the party with immediate effect.

“The National President of LJP Shri Chirag Paswan is authorised to take all decisions in the coming assembly election on behalf of party.”

LJP’s Paswan-led faction’s resolution

Chirag Paswan's Letter

In the letter written to his uncle in March, Paswan had said that after he became the national president of LJP, Paras had “cut short his visits to the house.”

Paswan also alleged that Paras never supported his decision to contest the 2020 Assembly polls independently and even hurt the party’s performance by praising Nitish Kumar during the elections.

“I needed you the most after my father’s departure. After Papa it was your responsibility to guide me during difficult times but you stopped talking to me. I urge you to take up the responsibility of keeping the family and the party together the way Papa used to do.”

Chirag Paswan

Background

The crisis in LJP has surfaced around eight months after Chirag took over the reins of the party following the demise of LJP founder and his father Ram Vilas Paswan.

The five rebel MPs are Pashupati Paras (Hajipur), Chandan Kumar Singh (Nawada), Mehboob Ali Kaiser (Khagaria), Veena Devi (Vaishali), and Prince Raj (Samastipur).

Paras was elected as the LJP parliamentary party leader in Lok Sabha on Monday and later recognised as such in an official notification.