JD(U)-BJP under attack from ally Chirag over ‘rising’ crime

On the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Patna visit, Union Minister Chirag Paswan questioned the record of his own ally JD(U)-led NDA government's record on law and order in Bihar.

"The morale of criminals is sky high," said Chirag, who recently announced at a rally in Saran that his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will contest all 243 seats in the state.

Chirag today met BJP president JP Nadda in the national capital and later attacked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led government’s “inability to control the deteriorating law and order situation in the poll-bound state”.

Close on the heels of industrialist Gopal Khemka's murder, another prisoner out on parole for medical treatment in Patna's Paras hospital was shot dead by five unidentified assailants. The ruling NDA ally Chirag said the functioning of police and administration in Bigar was beyond comprehension.

“Rising incidents of crime ahead of the Assembly poll are a matter of grave concern. Hope the administration will take solid and stringent measures to restore law and order," he said.

Chirag's posturing in Bihar has left many guessing about his next moves, with the BJP quietly watching. Chirag has been a vocal critic of Nitish and sees the Bihar elections as fertile ground to make a mark.

As he faces pressure from his rank and file to make forays into Bihar and claim the legacy of his late father Ram Vilas Paswan, BJP insiders appear unperturbed about the Paswan Junior's latest enterprise. "Every leader, every party has a bonafide right to expand and elections are the right time," said a senior BJP leader, when asked what the party thought of Chirag’s claims that he would fight the elections alone. The BJP has also said the NDA would fight the Bihar elections under Nitish’s leadership.