Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan spoke exclusively to The Daily Guardian and broke his silence on the entire Kangana Ranaut versus Shiv Sena row as well as the Sushant Singh Rajput case. He further outlined his plan for the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.
Excerpts:
Q: You’ve asked for President’s Rule in Maharashtra. Do you think the situation there is that bad?
A: The situation is in front of all of us to see. The way it has emerged and has manifested, people are scared. The behaviour meted out to Kangana Ranaut, who is an internationally acclaimed artist, is worrying and the reason behind this behaviour seems to be that she’s asked questions. A former Navy officer was beaten up because he forwarded a sketch of the CM. If people’s houses, offices are broken and they are manhandled for such trivial matters, then it is worrying. The way people are being targeted, look at the examples — the Navy officer was a North Indian, Kangana is a north Indian — then I am worried for the citizens of Bihar living in Maharashtra. We’ve seen what has happened with Sushant Singh Rajput, an individual from Bihar, that after his death, there was no chargesheet filed or proper investigation done for two whole months. The people who beat up the Navy officer were supporters of the ruling party and were out of jail within hours. If this goes on, how will the fear of law apply to criminals? They will see that this can be replicated. We will go, bash people up and then get released within hours, leading to a further increase in such cases. On one hand, you have still not been able to nail those who led to the cause of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, while the culprits in a case that you have caught, where you have CCTV footage of the incident, could have been brought to justice and set a precedent to show that no one is above the law. Looking at all of this and more, this environment of fear that people are living under in Maharashtra, I don’t see any recourse other than President’s Rule.
Q: You’ve talked about how people from Bihar live in Maharashtra. Are you worried that they would be targeted?
A: There have been instances earlier of people from the north of India, especially Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, being targeted in Maharashtra. Right now, the Shiv Sena is in power, they are the elected representatives of Maharashtra, they have to provide a sense of security to the people living in their state. This sense of security should be extended to all people living in Maharashtra. You have the responsibility of being the saviour, do not turn into the attacker. I’m now sure people will be scared to even send private WhatsApp messages to each other because who knows when the ruling party will get angry at them. The beauty of democracy lies in asking questions, it is the responsibility of every aware citizen to ask questions. Even I ask questions from my government. It is the responsibility of the government to answer all your queries. They are not supposed to beat you up or demolish your office.
Q: Kangana Ranaut’s office was demolished, stating that it was illegally built, but gangster and terrorist Dawood Ibrahim’s house is still standing tall. How do you see this?
A: The answer lies in the question itself: why are people being targeted? Especially ones like Kangana Ranaut, who has very strongly put her words forward and has valiantly raised issues. I’d like to ask the Maharashtra government what they’re scared of. Why can’t you answer questions? What is it that you are trying to hide or are you worried that it would expose you? There is something that they’re trying to hide. After targeting Kangana, the government washed their hands off it and put it on the BMC. The BMC comes under the state government and is ruled by the same party that rules the state government. The ones who beat up the officer, which party are they from? If this goes on like this and they don’t set deterrents and precedents, then criminals will become brave and the common man will become scared. A government and society cannot function like this. For me, the biggest worry is the people from Bihar who live there. There are children from Bihar who study there. We’ve already seen what has happened with Sushant Singh Rajput. How the case was dragged on, the Maharashtra government floated different theories from nepotism to ‘groupism’, but the reality remains that even after 2 months you haven’t even filed an FIR, let alone nabbing someone. I can understand that the state government wanted their police force to solve the case but if you were not getting any clue or lead in the matter and when the entire world is clamouring for a CBI probe, then you should have handed it over to the CBI. Eventually, Bihar had to intervene and get the matter into the hands of the CBI. If this is how things keep going on, then who will trust the government? If the people lose trust in the government, and seeing the prevailing conditions, President’s Rule is the only way out.
Q: Doesn’t the kind of statements being made by senior leaders of the Shiv Sena show that they’ve turned to their old ways?
A: Who will a citizen of Maharashtra ask questions to? In the current circumstances, with the kind of answers being given to questions, the kind of language being used, especially for a woman like Kangana, who will even want to ask questions? Kangana is a huge name in her own right, the ex-Navy officer had a stature of his own, and if they are being treated like this, then how a common man from Bihar or anywhere would be treated, we can’t even fathom.
Q: The monsoon session is starting from Monday. Will the LJP raise these points there?
A: Of course, definitely. I wanted the CM of Maharashtra to come forward and say that “what has happened with Kangana is wrong and we will ensure no further incident takes place” or come forward for the former Navy officer and apologise while promising that no such harm in the future. But what we are seeing is that the culprits being nabbed are being released within a few hours. We expect the government to come forward and give a sense of security, but what is happening is the opposite. In the prevailing scenario, we will raise the point in Parliament and if it remains so, then I will formally ask the Central government to implement President’s Rule in Maharashtra.