Paswan Beating Drum of Reservation for Upper Caste
Patna: Nov. 18, 2007
|
Paswan promotes reservation for upper castes
|
|
Photo by Shashi Uttam |
|
|
Eager to invent new political equations to strengthen his party's foothold in the state after drying up the well of dalit and Muslim vote banks in Bihar, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president and Union Chemical, Steel, and Fertilizer Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, at a party meet in Patna on Sunday, said it was high time reservation in jobs were mandated by law for the not-so-fortunate members of the upper caste communities.
"In the last few decades, extreme injustices have been meted out to the not-so-affluent members of the upper caste communities. While reservations have been introduced for the dalit and backward sections of the society, the poor among the upper castes have been systematically denied the fruits of such provisions. The time has arrived for these people to also enjoy the fruit of reservations," the Union Minister said in his speech at Sri Krishna Memorial Hall.
Taking a dig at his off-again, on-again political rivals Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Paswan said these people had been screaming about reservations for the upper caste members of the society but both had failed to take any step in that direction.
"Remember, those who speak from the top of their lungs have some evil intent in their hearts. These leaders have done all the talking. Now it is up to us to put the scheme into reality," the LJP leader said.
Paswan also inducted former MP Dr. Arun Kumar and former minister Nawal Kishore Shahi into the party calling their inclusion a huge boost for the LJP.
Kumar, in his speech, predicted Paswan was not only the next Chief Minister of Bihar but had all the potential to become the Prime Minister of India as well.
He, however, much to everyone's surprise, debunked the charges raised by the LJP leader Rasool Baliavi that the Janata Dal (U) leaders paid off Rs. 1 crore to the LJP legislators to abandon their party and join the JD-U during the last Assembly elections in Bihar.
Surprised by his own candid admission, Kumar quickly qualified his statement by saying the people around Nitish Kumar did pay 'a few lakh rupees' to some LJP legislators to lure them into joining the JD-U.
Kumar also accused the Chief Minister of hatching conspiracies against LJP MP Surajbhan and former MP Anand Mohan in an attempt to eliminate them from the political scene saying Nitish Kumar was only interested in saving his face and did not care about others who helped him win elections in Bihar.
|
