Adnan remembers Ram Vilas Paswan’s more assertive days:

In the 80s when anti-Muslim rhetoric was at its peak, Paswan was the only politician who countered rustic rabble-rousers like Uma Bharti, Mahant Awaidyanath, Kalyan Singh and their comparatively more ’suave’ hate-preachers like Lal Kishenchand Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, both on ground-level and in the parliament in the same idiom.

His speeches in the Lok Sabha, especially in 1989-1991 period, gave many Muslims the hope that there were still leaders who were ready to speak on behalf of Muslims in the communally charged political atmosphere. Once, he held the record for a win by highest margin from Haridwar, and in later years had to return to Bihar and keep shifting his constituencies to win the election.