"I consider Paswan-ji as God," Pashupati Paras said.
Pashupati Kumar Paras, the new food processing minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, laid claim to the legacy of his brother Ram Vilas Paswan a day after oath. His new position, he told NDTV, is due to the "blessings" of his brother.
"Paswan-ji has contributed to my becoming a minister. With the blessings of Paswan-ji, I have become a minister in the Government of India," said Mr Paras, who currently leads a splinter group of the Lok Janshakti Party formed by his brother.
Ram Vilas Paswan, the minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, had died last year and Mr Paras was given the cabinet slot by the BJP, foiling the ambitions of the late minister's son Chirag Paswan.
Chirag Paswan was given charge of the party by Ram Vilas Paswan, making the line of succession clear. But this has been called into question by the coup of Mr Paras. The battle for the Paswan legacy came out into the open last month, with five of the party's six MPs breaking away.
The selection of Mr Paras for Mr Paswan's cabinet slot has made the BJP's stance clear.
"I consider Paswan-ji as God. This party is his party," said Mr Paras, brushing off his nephew's claims without naming him. Five of the party's six MPs have made him the President of the Parliamentary Party, he pointed out.
Asked whether he would call himself the political successor of Ram Vilas Paswan, Mr Paras said the whole issue is a "coincidence".
"I have Paswan-ji's legacy. But to say his political successor would be like twisting the matter. It is also a coincidence and also Paswan Bhaiya's blessings," he said.
"When Paswan-ji left his MLA seat in 1977, he had asked me to contest from there. After that, he was MP from Hajipur between 1977 and 2019. Then in 2019, when Ram Vilas Paswan became MP of Rajya Sabha, he told me that I can contest the Lok Sabha elections from Hajipur. I became MP from Hajipur," he said.