Pitching for a comprehensive classification of caste data before its release, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said that once in public domain it will hit leaders like Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar the most. Paswan, Lok Janshakti Party chief, also claimed the Extremely Backward Castes among the OBCs have shifted allegiance to the NDA led by Indian Prime Minister, who himself belongs to EBC.
“LJP’s demand is that even if there is some delay, the government should make the caste data public only after its thorough classification. The categorisation will take time but when it is out, those who are making the maximum noise over it will be hit the hardest,” he said.
Bihar’s JD(U) Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who have stitched up an alliance for the state Assembly polls, have been insisting on the data being released immediately.
Parties like Samajwadi Party, JD(U), RJD and DMK have criticised the Centre for not releasing the caste-based data in the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC), the first in eight decades since 1912. The government on Thursday set up an expert group headed by NITI Ayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya to collate caste count and blamed the states for not being able to complete the consolidation of different categories.
“Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar, who have benefited from Mandal politics, will be the big losers as other smaller castes among backwards, who together numerically outnumber some particular dominant upper castes, will seek their share of power,” Paswan told Reportes in an interview.
Paswan, who was a member of the V P Singh Cabinet when Mandal Commission’s recommendations were implemented, also said the NDA, of which he is a part now, will win Bihar polls hands down if the data comes out.
On Lalu and Nitish Kumar’s contention that Narendra Modi was not the first OBC Prime Minister as claimed by BJP chief Amit Shah, Paswan said former PM H D Deve Gowda was a Vokkaliga, which is a powerful community in Karnataka.
“Modi’s caste falls under extremely backdward castes (EBC) in Gujarat,” he said and exuded confidence that EBCs will vote for NDA. Quoting from Ram Manohar Lohia’s book “Wheel of History”, Paswan said the late socialist leader had predicted that power will first transfer from upper castes to powerful castes among OBCs, but if the dominant castes among OBCs behave in the same manner with the lower castes, the lower castes will ally with upper castes again.
Paswan said it was witnessed in Uttar Pradesh when Dalits and upper castes, especially Brahmins, joined hands with Jatavs under Mayawati. “It will happen in Bihar as well. Upper castes, extremely backward castes, dalits and mahadalits have already come together.
Last Lok Sabha polls. It will happen again,” he said.
“I want to ask what Kush got during Nitish’s rule. Upendra Kushwaha had to part ways with him and now he is a Union minister,” he said. Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, which broke away from JD(U), is a part of the NDA.
Asserting that JD(U)-RJD alliance has “no future”, the LJP president claimed Yadavs will not vote for candidates of Nitish Kumar’s party.
“Past experience shows that Laluji fails to get his votes transferred to other alliance partners. His vote base never voted for LJP candidates when we fought in alliance with Lalu,” he said.
Samajwadi Party MPs created a ruckus over the stampede in Mahakumbh before the budget speech. Sam
Sunrisers Hyderabad will face Lucknow Super Giants in the seventh match of IPL 2025 today. This m
PLI scheme: Rs 2.34 lakh crore investment, more than 60 lakh people will get employment
The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme launched by the government is succeeding in attracti
With the help of two goals from young forward Rodrigo, Real Madrid defeated Osasuna 2-1 in the fi
What is the Importance of India's Special Frontier Force on the border of China?
Nema Tenzin, the Company Leader of the Development Regiment of India's Special Frontier Force, di
A shooting occurred just a short distance from the residence of President Donald Trump, the world
The film 'Humare Barah' is in a lot of discussion before its release. The film is also in controv
The world's richest person, Elon Musk, has now been captured on the microblogging platform Twitte
Mamta Banerjee was seen making momos in Darjeeling, its political meaning is interesting
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is known for her unique style. Sometimes she is seen in a
MS Dhoni: Bad news for young players! After Sachin Tendulkar, BCCI took a big step in honor of Dhoni
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has retired the number seven (7) jersey in honor
