New Delhi:
Union Minister and BJP ally Chirag Paswan has hit opposition parties including Congress, to claim credits for the Narendra Modi government’s decision to record caste figures in the next census. Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, Mr. Paswan and BJP’s ally Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) told NDTV that opposition parties had a chance to do so, but they did not take it.
Asked whether the announcement was related to the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar, where caste plays a major role, Mr. Paswan said that the opposition was trying to make a story that the decision was taken only for the election. He said, “Only one national level census for Bihar? If we were to do so, we must have done it before the Lok Sabha elections. It was a need for an hour, it was needed. The BJP and its allies were working for the longest time on it,” he said.
Mr. Paswan, who won five seats in Bihar in the general election last year and is now a prominent player in state politics, said that he has been quite vocal about demanding such a census. “I repeatedly said that it needs, we need that data with the government when you prepare policies about the weaker sections of the society, you need to keep those numbers in hand, but we have never done. Nearly 100 years ago, in 1931, we had it and since then, we had no data.
Claiming the opposition parties to take credit for taking the government for taking this decision, he said, “I wonder how everyone is running to take credit. Rahul (Gandhi), Lalu (Prasad Yadav), Akhilesh (Yadav), you had an opportunity. You could do this when you were in power.”
Targeting Mr. Gandhi, who claimed victory after the government’s announcement yesterday, Mr. Paswan said, “Outside, Rahul Gandhi will claim credit? After independence, your party was in power for the longest time. Your family had three Prime Ministers.
In Bihar, his rival, and Samajwadi Party, Mr. Paswan targeted Restrian Janata Dal, saying, “Laluji was the CM of my state, Akhilesh ji, his father (Malyam Singh Yadav) CM, why don’t they do a survey anymore? They are always a political weapon.”
In Parliament, when asked about the reply to 2021 by Minister of State (Home Affairs) Minister Nityanand Rai, the government decided not to calculate the caste-wise population other than SCS and STS in the census “, Mr. Paswan replied,” This may be one of the idea processes, you respect people’s feelings and you mature. “
He said that every BJP MLA had supported the caste survey in Bihar and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also open for suggestions.
Mr. Paswan was also asked about reservation in the private sector, an important demand of his father and party founder, late Ram Vilas Paswan. The government’s announcement yesterday has also talked about that count.
In his response, Mr. Paswan said, “How does the Prime Minister take the right decision at the right time.” He said that his party advocates the need for reservation in the private sector. “But right now, the priority is to execute it on time,” he said.
