Patna: LJP supremo Ramvilas Paswan on Wednesday
slammed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for, what he termed,
playing caste politics for electoral benefits and said that
Kumar had no moral right to question others if they speak for
welfare of any community.
"Kumar has been guilty of segregation of social groups
into castes and sought to bring anomisity among them by giving
special incentives to a particular caste or group of castes
and deprived the same to other caste groups with identical
socio-economic background," Paswan said at a function hosted
by his party to celebrate 88th birth anniversary of former
Chief Minister Karpuri Thakur.
"A person (Nitish) who has deliberately divided the
society in different caste groups now appeals to the people to
think for collective development by shedding caste identity,"
Paswan said in a dig at his bitter arch-rival.
Citing the example of segregation of some castes among
dalits into mahadalits by the NDA government during its first
term and constitution of a mahadalit commission to cater to
their aspirations, the LJP President said the Chief Minister
has no moral right to flay others if they spoke for welfare of
a specific community.
Paswan said that Kumar's latest statement advocating
for a separate quota for the most backward castes (MBCs) among
the OBCs under 27 per cent reservation was yet another example
of the latter's 'inconsistent' stand on caste-based politics.
If Kumar was so sincere about amelioration of the
MBCs, then he should have himself led by example and given
seven berths to them as against three in the ministry as their
population stood at 35 per cent in Bihar, he said.
The LJP supremo took to task the chief minister for
accusing the Congress with playing a 'divide and rule' policy
by proposing 4.5 per cent reservation for the Muslims under
the OBC quota of 27 per cent and said that the latter should
introspect as to what he has done in Bihar.
Paswan also sought to drive wedge among the NDA
constituents in Bihar by saying that the BJP was talking about
'Narendra Modi Model of Development in Uttar Pradesh assembly
polls, while the JD(U) was propagating 'Nitish model' to woo
the electorate.
The LJP leader said that the NDA government has not
taken action against those cops involved in Forbesganj police
firing in Bihar's Araria district in June last year in which
four persons from the minority community were killed.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 20:58