PATNA, Jan. 13 -- Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president Chirag Paswan on Sunday announced that he will embark on a statewide "Aabhaar Yatra" to thank the people and party workers for the LJP(RV)'s performance in the Bihar Assembly elections last year and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The yatra will begin after khadmaas ends on January 14, a period considered religiously inauspicious in the Hindu calendar. The LJP(RV), which was allotted 29 seats by NDA in the state polls but contested 28 due to the rejection of one nomination, won 19 seats - recording a success rate of about 68%. The party also achieved a 100% strike rate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, winning all five seats it fought. Responding to queries at a presser about opposition MLAs allegedly being in touch with NDA leaders, Paswan downplayed the claims. "These things may sound sensational, but they do not really carry much substance. The NDA has a strong government with more than 200 MLAs, and there is no need to indulge in breaking or luring legislators," he said, while acknowledging that MLAs from some opposition parties had, from time to time, expressed interest in the NDA. On illegal immigrants, Paswan said the government's position was unequivocal. "No infiltrator or non-citizen will be allowed to misuse the most important democratic right of our nation - the right to vote. Every illegal immigrant will be identified and deported," he asserted. Paswan also accused the Congress of misleading people by spreading fear about government policies and welfare schemes. He alleged that the Congress and the RJD had, in recent years, adopted a pattern of creating panic during election periods by pushing false narratives. Naming senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Paswan claimed that repeated assertions about Muslims being denied reservations or citizenship were misleading and unfounded. Referring to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Paswan said these issues were deliberately misrepresented despite being part of a long-standing legal and administrative process. He also clarified that the special intensive revision (SIR) was a routine democratic exercise aimed at removing the names of deceased voters, adding first-time voters, and deleting entries of those who had migrated out of the state. "In Bihar, attempts were made to create unrest for nearly two weeks, but no formal objections were submitted to the election authorities. We have not received any complaints or reports of irregularities," Paswan said, adding that allegations of vote theft surface routinely during elections but are ultimately answered by voters through the democratic process. Paswan's announcement comes close on the heels of CM Nitish Kumar's decision to launch a "Samridh Yatra" from January 16....