Chirag Paswan's Poll Message In Letter To Nitish Kumar On Bihar Rape-Murder

Union Minister and BJP ally Chirag Paswan has written to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, also a BJP ally, on the Muzaffarpur rape-murder case, raising serious questions on the state's law and order situation and public health infrastructure.

This letter assumes significance when seen against the political backdrop. Assembly polls in Bihar are due later this year, and Mr Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Mr Kumar's JDU are key players in the state. Also, despite the two leaders' show of bonhomie in recent times, their bitter rivalry in the past has not been forgotten.

Mr Paswan has referred to the gruesome rape-murder of a nine-year-old Dalit girl in Muzaffarpur and said the heart-rending incident exposes the failure of Bihar's law and order, social awareness and public health.

Union Minister Chirag Paswan writes to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar demanding strict action in the Muzaffarpur Dalit girl gangrape-murder case

"All the rapists involved in this heinous crime should be arrested immediately and given the harshest punishment. A high-level judicial inquiry… pic.twitter.com/bgC0EXeLWe

— ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2025

The nine-year-old, whose throat was slit, was first admitted to a hospital in Muzaffarpur and then rushed to Patna. It is alleged that she had to wait hours for a bed at Patna Medical College and Hospital, Bihar's largest healthcare centre. The next day, she died. While her family has accused hospital authorities of negligence, the hospital administration has rejected these allegations.

Mr Paswan has written that the victim had to wait for six hours to be admitted to the hospital. He says the doctors and administrative staff of the hospital are as guilty as the accused in the heinous crime. "They did not provide urgent treatment and lost precious time. This is not just negligence, but a crime against humanity," he wrote.

The 42-year-old leader, who is Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, leads the LJP (Ram Vilas) and made headlines when his party won all five seats it contested during the Lok Sabha polls last year. Recently, he announced his intention to contest the upcoming state polls, prompting a buzz in Bihar's political circles.

Mr Paswan said his party's representatives met the victim's family and assured them justice. "But justice will be incomplete and unacceptable unless the guilty face strict and transparent action on the administrative level," he said, demanding tough action against the accused and an inquiry against the healthcare staff.

"This incident is not just a death. It has become a symbol of the failure of our social system and a failure of our constitutional responsibility. If the administration stays silent, this silence will become the biggest crime," he said.

Coming months ahead of the Assembly polls, the rape-murder has raised a political storm in Bihar. Opposition RJD and Congress have gone all-out against the Nitish Kumar government and demanded the resignation of Health Minister Mangal Pandey. While the accused has been arrested, a probe has been ordered into what happened at PMCH. The ruling coalition of JDU and BJP has accused the Opposition of politicising the case.

Against this backdrop, Mr Paswan's strong remarks are being seen as political posturing in the election season. An NDA ally that can brag of 100 per cent strike rate during the last Lok Sabha election, LJP (Ram Vilas) appears to have made a calculated move to pressure the BJP as NDA partners negotiate seat-sharing for the state polls.