On Paswan agenda: Pit Muslims, Dalits against RJD

Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan seems to be making a strong attempt to woo Muslims and cut into the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s ...

Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan seems to be making a strong attempt to woo Muslims and cut into the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) votebank in Bihar. Paswan is hoping to club together a Muslim-Dalit combination to take on RJD leader Laloo Prasad Yadav. Paswan announced a series of sops for the Muslims and the Dalits at his recent rally.

He said if he came to power, he would first set up a Muslim university in Bihar within six months and introduce a 10 per cent reservation for the community. He has also been reminding the community about how he severed ties with the BJP and gave up a ministerial post after the Godhra riots.

But within the LJP, there are doubts on whether this approach will work. The RJD has always enjoyed the support of Muslims in Bihar with Laloo Prasad Yadav capitalising on the Muslim-Yadav combination. Though Paswan announced he would field candidates on all 243 seats in Bihar, insiders say there are not enough candidates. He is also trying his best to get the Congress over to his corner and to at least show he is doing his best to club together an alternative front. He has repeatedly made statements that he has asked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to ally with his party in the state and ‘‘warned’’ her against going with RJD in the state.

Meanwhile, Paswan has accused Laloo Yadav of harassing and making up cases against his supporters and leaders. The police raided the house of Rajan Tiwari, in Beur jail in a murder case, over the kidnapping of two NHPC officials. He also said he would act if the state continued conducting raids at the residence of party leaders.

LJP chief swindled money in crane deal, says Laloo

		PATNA: Railway Minister Laloo Prasad on Sunday alleged LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan had swindled money in the Rs 800-crore purchase of cranes when he was Railway minister in 1996-97 and threatened to make public concerned purported documents. Paswan rejected the charge saying if an irregularity of even Rs 8 was established against him, he would quit politics. — PTI

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