EXCLUSIVE - 'Nitish Kumar like my guardian; I'm a cementing force within NDA': Chirag Paswan
Bihar Assembly Elections 2025: When asked if he is a contender for the post of chief minister in Bihar in future, Chirag Paswan jokingly said that Jitan Ram Manjhi, his cabinet colleague and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief, often tells him that he doesn't have much experience.
Union Food Processing Industries Minister Chirag Paswan said on Sunday that incumbent Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is like a 'guardian' to him and he has learnt a lot from the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader. In an exclusive interview with India TV, Paswan clarified that he doesn't have an issue with Kumar, stressing that he is trying to forget what happened during the 2020 Bihar elections.
"Nitish Kumar is my guardian and I have learnt a lot from him. He is a case study himself. I don't have any issues with him," said Paswan, pointing out that he is just a 'cementing force' within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The Lok Janashakti Party (Ram Vilas) supremo also spoke about his relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he has learnt a lot from him. He said he won't even contest upcoming assembly elections in Bihar if PM Modi asks him to do so. "This is my love for him. PM Modi is like my father," he said.
When asked if he is a contender for the post of chief minister in Bihar in future, Paswan jokingly said that Jitan Ram Manjhi, his cabinet colleague and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief, often tells him that he doesn't have much experience. "It is a part of opposition's politics. I still need to be out of my 2020's shadow. But I want to assure that there is no issue within the NDA," Paswan told India TV.
He also took a dig at Rahul Gandhi and wondered where the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha is? He said Gandhi had raised his concerns over the special intensive revision (SIR) drive in Bihar, but he has just vanished. He even wondered which minister would have replied had the SIR issue been raised in Parliament, as the Election Commission of India (ECI) is a completely separate body.
"Where is he now? I don't even see him meeting his alliance partners. Did he even meet Lalu Prasad Yadav's family during their Delhi visit?" the union minister told India TV. "He is only misleading people. He did this during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when he said Constitution and democracy would end in India if we return to power. It has been 1.5 years since we forced government at the Centre, but did the Constitution get abolish?"