Union Minister and National President of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) Chirag Paswan has once again expressed his different opinion by deviating from the NDA line. He supported the caste census on Sunday. Chirag said- We want caste census to be done. Let us tell you that even before this, Chirag Paswan has expressed similar opinion regarding caste census, in fact, in the past, he had expressed vocal opposition to the matter of lateral entry.
By saying this, Chirag Paswan has stood in support of the demand of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, which both the leaders have been raising since the last Lok Sabha elections. Now the question arises whether the equation of votes is forcing Chirag to take a different line from NDA or is there any other reason?
The core voters of Chirag’s party Lok Janshakti Party are Paswan voters. Paswan vote bank is around 5.31 percent in Bihar. Chirag is also aware that if support of any other section is not received, then it will be difficult to win any seat on the strength of Paswan voters alone. It is also being said that after the decrease in BJP’s seats in the recent Lok Sabha elections and the good performance of parties like RJD, SP, is Chirag sensing the mood of the political weather and gradually shifting his stand?
In fact, in the national executive meeting of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) in Ranchi on Sunday, Union Minister Chirag Paswan has once again been elected as the national president of the party. After being elected president, Chirag Paswan said, “Today our national executive meeting was held in Ranchi in which our executive members from across the country participated. The main objective of this executive meeting was to elect the national president. I have been re-elected as the national president of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).”
During this, while clarifying his opinion on the issue of caste census, Chirag Paswan said, “My party has always kept its position clear in support of caste census. We want caste census to be done. The reason for this is that many times the state government and the central government make such schemes which are prepared keeping caste in mind. These schemes are made with the aim of connecting with the mainstream. In such a situation, the government should have information about the population of that caste. At least this information should be there so that the distribution of funds under the concerned scheme or connecting that caste to the mainstream can be done in appropriate amount. In this regard, at least the government should have these figures.”
Earlier also we have expressed different opinions on many issues
Chirag Paswan has previously expressed similar views on caste census. Not only caste census, but he has also opposed the stand of his own ally party on many other matters and issues. Recently, Chirag Paswan was seen openly opposing the lateral entry recruitment of the central government. Opposition parties were already cornering the government on this, as a result the central government withdrew this recruitment process. Chirag Paswan has been seen walking on a different path from NDA on many occasions.
Have already shown a different stand from NDA on caste census
Last July too, Chirag Paswan had given his support to the caste census. Paswan had clarified his party’s stand in support of the caste census and said that caste census should be a part of the next census, as correct data is necessary for community-based development schemes. However, he had also opposed making this data public. For this, he said that this could create a situation of division in the society. Other parties of the NDA have also supported the caste census, but Chirag Paswan’s special emphasis on this issue and his concerns about the publicity of the data make him stand apart from other parties.
Different opinion was also given on lateral entry
Recently, Chirag Paswan had also protested on the issue of lateral entry. Chirag Paswan’s stand on the issue of reservation has always been clear. He had strongly raised the issue in support of the provision of reservation in government jobs. Recently, when the issue of lateral entry in UPSC was raised, Chirag Paswan strongly criticized it and said that it is against the principles of reservation. He said that the provision of reservation in government posts is necessary and should not be ignored. On this issue, he has a different opinion from some of the NDA constituents who support lateral entry.
Support was given to Bharat Bandh
Recently, Chirag Paswan had also supported the Bharat Bandh. This bandh was called on the call of various organizations across the country against the Supreme Court’s decision on creamy layer in Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) reservation. Many opposition parties also supported this ‘Bharat Bandh’. LJP (R) President and Union Minister Chirag Paswan also supported this Bharat Bandh. He said that ‘We will fully support this bandh. Chirag said that as long as there is a practice like untouchability against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the society, till then there should not be reservation in sub-categories and provisions like creamy layer for SC/ST categories.’
Uniform Civil Code (UCC)
The issue of Uniform Civil Code has been a topic of discussion in the country for a long time. Many NDA constituents have been advocating its implementation, but Chirag Paswan clarified his opinion on this issue and said that until the draft of UCC is released, his party cannot take any concrete decision on it. He expressed concern about the possible effects of UCC and said that implementing a single civil code in a diverse country like India can be challenging. He had called for in-depth discussions on this, citing different traditions especially for tribals and various religious and cultural communities.
Bihar Assembly Elections 2020
During the Bihar Assembly elections 2020, Chirag Paswan adopted a different strategy with the aim of carrying forward the legacy of his father Ram Vilas Paswan. He took a tough stand against NDA constituent JDU (Janata Dal United) and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Chirag Paswan fielded his party candidates against JDU, which increased tension within the NDA. However, he himself remained in the NDA and maintained an alliance with the BJP. During this time his party gave the slogan of “Nitish Mukt Bihar”.