In Jharkhand, the party could contest the elections with its national alliance partner, the BJP, or on its own, he said. (Photo: PTI)
Union Minister Chirag Paswan was on Sunday re-elected as the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president for five years at its national executive meeting here.
The decision was taken unanimously at the meeting, Paswan said.
“The national executive, at its meeting here, has re-elected me for the next five years,” he said.
Food Processing Industries Minister Paswan said the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand were also discussed in the meeting.
In Jharkhand, the party could contest the elections with its national alliance partner, the BJP, or on its own, he said.
“We have received suggestions from state units on whether they want to contest the elections in alliance or alone in states where our organisation is strong… At the national level, we have an alliance with the BJP and are a strong coalition partner of the NDA.
“In the 2014 elections, we had partnered with the BJP for the Vidhansabha elections in Jharkhand and contested from the Shikaripara seat. If there is a respectable seat share, we can go with an alliance or we can go alone in the elections,” Paswan said.
Assembly elections are due in Jharkhand later this year.
He also proposed a nationwide census of castes, but warned against making the figures public as it would create a “rift” in society.
“We have always insisted that we want the caste census to be conducted… That will ensure that the government has correct figures. However, I do not want the census figures to be made public. That could create a divide,” said the minister, whose late father Ram Vilas Paswan was one of the country’s tallest Dalit leaders.
He also said that a special resolution was passed in the national executive meeting to extend a motion of thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his welfare initiatives and work towards the SC-ST community.
Commenting on the creamy layer in the South Carolina community, he said, “We have opposed it as they are not only victims of social and educational backwardness but even untouchability.”
Paswan said that even after so many years of independence, Dalit grooms are prevented from riding horses during weddings, “and I even heard of an IPS officer seeking security for his marriage.”
“Even today we hear that members of the Dalit community are not allowed to enter temples… The Supreme Court’s observation made no mention of untouchability. The Prime Minister also said that as per constitutional norms, provisions for SCs would continue,” he said.
Earlier this month, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud ruled in a 6:1 majority judgment that state governments could sub-classify communities within the Supreme Court list based on empirical data.
Supreme Court judge Justice BR Gavai had said that states should develop a policy to identify the creamy layer even among scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) and deny them the benefit of reservation.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: August 25, 2024 | 20:52 IS
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