Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Chirag Paswan He targeted Nitish Kumar's pet project, the liquor ban
Two days before the Bihar election, Chirag Paswan, stepping up his attacks on Nitish Kumar over allegations of corruption, said he believed "jail is the right place" for the Chief Minister. "It is not possible that Nitish Kumar was not involved in scams," the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader told news agency ANI on his coalition partner-turned-chief target.
Chirag Paswan's latest attack came in response to questions about his promise to jail those responsible for corruption in the five-year Nitish Kumar rule, even if it meant the Chief Minister.
"I said that if they are guilty, they will be sent to jail after an investigation. How can it be possible that the Chief Minister doesn't know about large scale scams and corruption? He's involved too. If not, it will be clear in a probe. But people and I believe that he is involved, that he is corrupt, and any corrupt person belongs in jail" said the LJP MP, who is contesting the polls separately from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) only to fight Nitish Kumar's party.
No corrupt leader should be allowed to roam free, he said. "Jail is the right place for Nitish Kumar," Mr Paswan declared.
He also targeted the Chief Minister's pet project, the liquor ban, calling it a breeding ground for corruption - so much that there was "home delivery" of alcohol now.
"Why don't they investigate the liquor ban? Are there no liquor smugglers in Bihar? Isn't alcohol smuggled into Bihar? Aren't the powerful accessing liquor in Bihar? The entire state government is linked to liquor smuggling and there is no one in Nitish Kumar's party Janata Dal United who doesn't know," he said.
He also tweeted with the hashtag #nitishmuktBihar (Nitish-free Bihar).