"Father's Bust At Home Symbol Of Love, Not Bid To Encroach": Chirag Paswan

LJP leader Chirag Paswan said his late father Ram Vilas Paswan's bust at his residence here for over three decades is a symbol of the party's love for the leader and rejected speculation that it signified its attempt to keep the house under its control.

As a lawmaker he will not do anything that is considered encroachment or any violation of the law, Chirag Paswan told PTI, noting that government rules do not allow any official residence to be converted into a museum or memorial.

"As of now the government has permitted me to stay here. The bust is a symbol of the party's love for the late leader and will be shifted whenever an alternative arrangement is provided. The bust should never be seen as an attempt on my part to encroach the property," he said.

The young leader said he would never support anything that goes against the law and asserted that the party plans to install his father's bust or statue in every district in the country.

The Urban Development Ministry had issued an initial notice for vacating the residence soon after the death of Ram Vilas Paswan, but the family has been allowed to stay there for now after Chirag Paswan took up the matter with senior government functionaries, sources said.

The residence at Janpath, where Ram Vilas Paswan stayed for over 32 years till his death last year, has been allotted to Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Due to numerous controversies in the past over attempts by many families of noted leaders to retain the official residence after their deaths, a new rule has been put in place to bar converting such homes into memorials.