The Hindustani Awam Morcha party on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a probe into Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s death last month with the party raising doubts about the late Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader’s son Chirag Paswan. The move drew flak from Paswan’s son Chirag Paswan, who asked why HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi never visited his ailing father if he was so concerned.
“There are several doubts that bring his son Chirag Paswan in question,” HAM’s national spokesperson Danish Rizwan said in the letter to the Prime Minister in Hindi. Demanding a probe into Paswan’s death, the HAM alleged that while the whole country was still trying to get over the Dalit leader’s death, his son Chirag was seen smiling and attending shoots two days after his father’s death. The party also asked why hospital authorities never released Paswan’s health bulletin and why only three people were allowed to meet him at the hospital.
Responding to the allegations, Chirag Paswan said everyone was playing politics over a person who is dead now and added that those talking such things about a son should be ashamed of themselves. “The way Manjhi Ji is talking about my father now, why didn’t he show so much concern about him when he was hospitalised? Everyone is playing politics over a dead person now, why did no one bother to visit him when he was alive?,” Paswan asked. He said that he had told Manjhi about his father’s condition over the phone and yet he never came to see him.
Former chief minister Manjhi had earlier demanded a Bharat Ratna for Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan. He had also written President Ram Nath Kovind requesting to convert Paswan’s 12, Janpath bungalow in New Delhi, where the Lok Janshakti Party founder lived for the past 31 years since 1989, to a memorial.
The row comes a day before 94 constituencies in the state are set to go to polls in the second phase of Bihar assembly elections. The first round of voting on 71 constituencies was conducted on October 28 while people across the remaining constituencies will cast their ballot on November 7. The results of the 243-seat assembly elections will be declared on November 10.