PATNA: Former Union minister and RLJP chief Pashupati Kumar Paras Sunday called on RJD chief Lalu Prasad, sparking speculations his party was inching closer to the opposition Grand Alliance ahead of the assembly elections in Bihar. This was their third meeting in one week.
Paras, accompanied by his nephew Prince, a former MP, met Lalu for about 20 minutes.
Speaking to the media, Paras, the estranged uncle of Union minister Chirag Paswan, expressed annoyance over the treatment meted out to them in NDA. “We remained with NDA for 10 years but were treated shabbily, perhaps, because we are a party of Dalits,” he said, adding they were denied tickets in the Lok Sabha polls despite RLJP having five MPs.
Asked if he would join the Grand Alliance, Paras said, “Raaz ko raaz hi rahne dijiye (Let the secret remain secret).” He said he will decide after holding a meeting of RLJP’s parliamentary board and national executive in April.
RJD’s Sanjay Yadav, meanwhile, said, “Any alliance that he (Paras) joins will benefit.”
