‘The promises made to Bihar were not kept’
Chirag Paswan, Lok Janshakti Party president and MP from Bihar’s Jamui constituency, is vocal in his criticism of the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government, even though it is a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp)-led ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). In an interview to
Smriti Kak Ramachhandran,
he said he conveyed his concerns about holding elections to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the NDA. Edited excerpts: concern the way the state machinery is working. I expected my chief minister and my government to perform better and to deliver more, but he (Kumar) disappointed us all.
The day the migrant worker crisis started I expected the government to help them and not leave them to die on highways. I expected that buses would be sent to ferry them back home, as was done by Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath. I don’t know if any direct benefit transfer was done because a lot of people whom I met don’t seem to have received any. But the biggest issue right now is the way our government is playing with the lives of the Biharis. A few days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with a few CMS through a video-conference. Soon after the meeting the PM tweeted some states are required to improve their testing records and Bihar topped the list. On that day, though about 75,000 tests were conducted, the PM said categorically that there is a need to improve. This implies that something is wrong somewhere. What is also going wrong is that until now about 90% of the testing is being done through the rapid antigen detection (RAD) test, which even the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said should only be conducted in Covid-19 containment zones or during emergencies in hospitals. So not only are we not testing enough, but we are also not doing it the right way.
At present, I am not even thinking about elections; I don’t understand how my CM is thinking about elections at a time when 18 districts are flooded and Covid-19 cases are increasing by leaps and bounds on a daily basis.
At a meeting with BJP national president JP Nadda a few weeks ago, I mentioned this to him. I had said our priority should be to control the pandemic and we should not be thinking about the elections.
The call has to be taken only by the ECI. And if that happens, then we will participate because we are prepared for the elections but we would prefer not to hold them now. As a head of a political party, it is my responsibility to give a correct picture about the state of affairs to the ECI. Political parties are not meant to only contest elections -- to win or strategise. We have a much bigger social responsibility as well.
In the most recent release shared on his Instagram, late last month, Mr Yuvraj produced his own version of Pink Floyd’s Shine On You Crazy Diamond, starring a mind-boggling number of 35 singers spread in five cities. The video is an engrossing ensemble of voices, masterfully coordinated, true to the emotions of the original song. Because it was all created from so many different homes and places, the video tells us something about the art of connecting together in these unprecedented times of physical distancing. You may watch it on Youtube as well as on this Instagram handle—@withyeashu
Yet, there are other pursuits in Mr Yuvraj’s life that cannot be pursued while sitting at home. Such as photography. His occasional assignment to shoot in concerts held in clubs and malls are no longer possible for now, obviously. Gone also are the pleasures of occasional Sunday photo walks through picturesque spaces in Delhi like Transport Mandi, Yamuna Bazaar and India Gate.
Even so, he remains mindful of his gains. “Unlike many others, I am not suffering greatly due to the pandemic. I have used this period as a beautiful opportunity to rethink my way of living.” A pause later, he says, “Probably, when the pandemic is over, I will want to retain this pace of life.”
Meanwhile, he is working on a new music video, based on his “arrangement of the national anthem.”