Dad LJP’s choice for ministerial berth: Chirag Paswan

PATNA: The LJP parliamentary board headed by Jamui MP Chirag Paswan on Tuesday decided that Ram Vilas Paswan will represent the party in the Union cabinet.
The LJP’s parliamentary board also decided to appoint Chirag as the leader of the party in Lok Sabha and Khagaria MP Chaudhary Mehboob Ali Kaiser as deputy leader of the party in the Parliament.
“If asked to join the government, the LJP will put forth the name of party president Ram Vilas Paswan,” Chirag said.Ram Vilas Paswan was the Union consumer affairs minister in the previous NDA government.
Speculations were rife that even Ram Vilas Paswan was pitching for a ministerial berth for his son, but Chirag on Monday confirmed that he was never keen for it. “It is a big responsibility to become a Union minister. One needs experience for it. Nonetheless, I had turned down a similar offer when the NDA formed the government in 2014,” Chirag said.
Ram Vilas, who had won from Hajipur parliamentary constituency for six times in the past, did not contest the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Chirag said RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s younger son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav should take moral responsibility for the party’s dismal performance in Lok Sabha elections. “When you fight from the front, you obviously become responsible for the results,” Chirag said.