Patna: Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras on Wednesday claimed that he received a threat call, and urged the Union Home Ministry to look into the episode behind which he suspected the hand of his nephew Chirag Paswan. Talking to reporters here, Paras said the call was received at the telephone of his official residence in Delhi around midnight on Tuesday, and a police complaint was lodged on his behalf.
"I have also telephoned the Superintendent of Police of Vaishali district as the call seems to have been made from there," said the minister whose Lok Sabha constituency is in Vaishali. Paras also played an audio clip, purportedly of the threat call, in which the caller can be heard uttering the phrase "thok denge" (will bump off) while threatening to blacken the face of the minister.
"I am also sending a written complaint to the Union Home Ministry since I evidently face a threat to my life. This is despite the fact that I have been in public life since the 1970s, and have never had any enemies," said the Hajipur MP, who won the seat in 2019 when his late elder brother Ram Vilas Paswan gave it up.
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When asked if he suspected anybody known to him of involvement in the incident, Paras said, "There are some people who are envious of my political success. They have done nothing for their own constituency and want to snatch away mine." The minister refused to mention by name his nephew, who represents the Jamui Lok Sabha seat, and has expressed the wish that his mother Reena Paswan be fielded by the NDA from Hajipur next year.
He, however, lashed out at his nephew, saying, "He keeps bragging about Hajipur being his father's 'karmabhoomi'. He should realise that I was made to contest the seat by none else but the late Ram Vilas Paswan, who was impressed with the way I had nurtured the assembly constituency that he gave up in 1977 upon getting elected to Parliament."
"Come what may, I will not give up Hajipur and seek re-election from the seat next year," said Paras, who had revolted two years ago against his nephew who then headed the Lok Janshakti Party. Paras, who now heads Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, formed as a result of the split, asserted that there was no question of rapprochement with his nephew, whose group is known as Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).
"If two political parties fight, there can be a patch-up. But when the heart gets broken, it never gets mended," said the minister, who believes that the BJP, which calls the shots in the NDA, will honour his claim on Hajipur. (PTI)
