Chirag Paswan Slams RJD’s Boycott Call Over SIR: “Let Them Try If They Have the Courage”

Patna: In a sharp counter to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav’s remarks about boycotting elections over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan hit back, calling it a desperate attempt to instill fear among the people.

Reacting to Yadav’s statements, Paswan said,”I am saying, let them do it if they have the courage. These are the political parties that cannot even fight alone. RJD, an old party of Bihar, does not have the courage to contest elections alone; they are in an alliance with Congress… Even Congress does not have the courage to fight alone here.”

Taking a dig at the opposition alliance in Bihar, Paswan compared their alliance strategy with his own solo performance in the 2020 Assembly elections.

“Chirag Paswan did this in 2020. They are only trying to create fear,” he added.

Paswan went on to draw parallels between the opposition’s response to the SIR and earlier campaigns against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

“During the Lok Sabha elections, they were saying that the Constitution would be abolished, reservations would be abolished — has that happened? The kind of confusion being created about SIR is the same as what they did during CAA.”

The Union Minister’s remarks come amidst mounting political tension in Bihar, where the SIR exercise — meant for updating electoral rolls — has triggered strong reactions from the RJD and its allies, who allege that it’s a ploy to selectively delete names of minority and backward-class voters. Yadav recently hinted at the possibility of boycotting the upcoming elections if the process is not made transparent.