Patna, Jan. 3: Union minister for food, consumer affairs and public distribution Ram Vilas Paswan today said efforts at reviving the Janata Parivar would neither succeed nor stop Narendra Modi's wave in Bihar.

'The news of Janata Parivar unification is in itself illusory. I have been hearing about it for a month now. Even if it takes place, factionalism would lead to fall and disintegration of the merged unit,' Paswan told reporters. The merger might at best take place in Bihar to check the Modi wave but would not happen at the national level because the participants would start fighting for the post of president of the new political entity.

Also, he said Lalu and Nitish would ensure the defeat of each other's candidates if it suits them. 'Both factions (led by Lalu and Nitish) would put up candidates in each constituency. Their unity would be like of an orange. It will be one from the outside but divided inside,' Paswan said.

Recalling his defeat from Hajipur in 2009, he said Lalu Prasad and the RJD did not transfer their support base to the LJP. The same will happen during Assembly polls in October-November this year, he said. 'Lalu's votes will not get transferred to Nitish and vice-versa,' he said.

He predicted that after the Assembly polls, the JDU would meet the UPA's fate when it did not get enough numbers to even get Leader of the Opposition's post in 2014. Both Lalu and Nitish would be routed and the NDA, riding on the Modi wave, would form a government with three-fourths majority, he said.

When told that the RJD and JDU are indeed coming closer to stop the Modi wave, Paswan said Nitish could not stop Modi when the latter was not Prime Minister, so how can he now stop Modi under whose leadership the NDA has won Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand and strengthened its position in Jammu & Kashmir. 'Both Lalu and Nitish contested in Jharkhand but were reduced to zero in the Assembly,' he said.

Paswan called Jitan Ram Manjhi a 'puppet CM'. Manjhi is much better than Lalu and Nitish. At least he does not cheat anyone. But he is not being allowed to work. Rather he is being humiliated, he said.

Performance

On his ministry's performance so far, Paswan announced the setting up of the National Consumer Protection Authority, which would redress consumers' grievances besides taking penal action against defaulting companies.

To remove confusion among consumers, he said, consumer courts would have the same name across India. Consumers would not require to hire/engage lawyers for filing cases worth up to Rs 2 lakh. Besides, National Consumer Commission would deliver judgments within 90 days, he said.

The ministry has also decided to make hoarding a non-bailable offence with the sentence extending from six months to a year, Paswan said

Mum on PK

On the controversy over Aamir Khan-starrer PK, Paswan said he had not watched the movie. But he pointed out that BJP leader L.K. Advani had praised the movie.