Janata merger not happening: Paswan

Patna: Taking a dig at the Janata Parivar merger, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Sunday said, “If Mulayam Singh Yadav is the president of the new party, then the Election of Commission of India should inquire whether Lalu Prasad is still the RJD chief and Nitish Kumar still a part of JD(U).”
Talking to mediapersons, Paswan said, “Jab dil hi nahi milte hain to dal kaise milenge (when their interests don’t match, how will the parties merge)?” The Union minister said the new party had no name or symbol.“How can it be called a party then?” he asked. Even the party members are claiming the original parties will remain intact, Paswan said, adding, “RJD’s Madhepura MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav has given statements against the Janata Parivar merger. I tell you it is not happening.”
However, the LJP chief was left stuttering when he was asked that BJP’s national president Amit Shah at the party’s Virat Karyakarta Samagam gave the slogan ‘Jai jai Bihar, BJP sarkar’, not ‘NDA sarkar’. “It is nothing like that,” was all Paswan could manage to reply. To another question why LJP or RLSP leaders were not seen at the Samagam, Paswan said, “It was their party’s meet. Even we hadn’t invited the BJP at our party’s workers meet.”
When asked to comment on former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s April 20 rally, Paswan said, “It is for Manjhi to decide what to do — whether to float a party or join others.”