President Murmu accepts union minister Paras’s resignation, gives Rijiju additional charge

President Droupadi Murmu has accepted the resignation of Union Food Processing Industries Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, and gave minister of earth sciences Kiren Rijiju the additional charge, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement on Wednesday.

Pashupati Paras, the brother of late Ram Vilas Paswan, was unhappy with NDA seat-sharing deal in Bihar as the party gave five seats to Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), led by Chirag Paswan, who is the son of Ram Vilas Paswan and Pashupati Paras's estranged nephew.

According to sources, Pashupati Paras was staking his claim over several Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, including Hajipur, reported India Today.

The Lok Janshakti Party, which was led by Ram Vilas Paswan, split into two after his demise in 2020. His brother Paras leads the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) and his son Chirag Paswan the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).

After the resignation from the Narendra Modi-led central cabinet, the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party leader is in touch with the Opposition INDIA bloc, according to India Today TV sources.

Earlier, senior BJP leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha had remarked that it will be "suicidal" for Pashupati Kumar Paras and Upendra Kushwaha to align with the opposition 'Mahagathbandhan'.

"It is only the BJP which knows how to respect its allies. This has been realized by even Chief Minister Nitish Kumar", said Sinha, who became the Deputy CM following the JD(U) chief's return to NDA in January.

The BJP is contesting 17 out of 40 seats in Bihar, while Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United (JD-U) will be contesting 16. This is the first time the BJP will be contesting more seats than its primary ally in Bihar.  

The LJP (Ram Vilas) will contest on five seats including Hajipur, currently held by Paras, which the late Paswan represented several times. Meanwhile, one seat each has been left out for Jitan T Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha.