Chirag Paswan removed as LJP chief, says `party is like mother, it shouldn`t be betrayed`

NEW DELHI: A day after five rebel MPs of his party elected his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras as their new leader, Chirag Paswan was on Tuesday removed as the national president of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) founded by his late father and former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

Meanwhile, Surajbhan Singh has been appointed as the National Working President of the party. The party leadership has also given him the charge to conduct elections for the appointment of the new LJP national president.

In his first reaction after his uncle, Pashupati Kumar Paras ousted him as the leader of the party in Lok Sabha, LJP leader Chirag Paswan likened the organization to a mother who should not be "betrayed".

In a tweet, he said he made sincere efforts to keep the party founded by his father Ram Vilas Paswan and his family together but failed. "People are supreme in a democracy," Paswan said and thanked those who have kept faith in the party.

Paswan also shared a letter he had written to Paras, the youngest brother of his father, in March in which he had highlighted his uncle's unhappiness over a number of issues, including his elevation as the party president. 

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

Earlier on Monday, Pashupati Kumar Paras was formally elected as the new parliamentary leader of the party in Lok Sabha by five rebel MPs of the party.

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

Paras had said that the step has been taken to save the party. "There are six MPs in our party. It was the desire of five MPs to save our party. So, I have not broken the party. I have saved it. Chirag Paswan is my nephew as well as the party's national president. I have no objection against him," Paras had said. 

Paras is currently representing the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat in Bihar. Regarding the rumours that LJP will be joining the Janta Dal (United) in Bihar, the Hajipur MP said, "Existence of LJP will continue, we are not joining JDU. We will fulfill the ambition of Late Ramvilas Paswan,'' he said.

However, he stated that LJP will continue to be a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).