Chirag Paswan bats for nationwide caste census
"There should be a caste-based census because many policies are made on the basis of caste to bring people of that community in mainstream,” he said.
Union minister Chirag Paswan has called for a nationwide caste-based census, saying the survey will help to know the population of those sections of the society which needed to be uplifted further.
He was speaking at the 'India Today Conclave' in Mumbai on Wednesday (September 25).
"We (LJP-Ram Vilas) have our own priorities, our concerns for the section of the society which we represent. If the section is wronged, then it is the responsibility of our party to become the voice of that section," Paswan said.
Why caste census
He was asked about his stand on caste-based census and lateral entry in government jobs.
"Our stand is very clear -- there should be a caste-based census because many policies are made on the basis of caste to bring people of that community in the mainstream.
“The government must at least have the (data of) population of that community so that funds could be allotted accordingly," the Union minister for good processing said.
Lateral recruitments by UPSC
Paswan said he and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were on the same page on caste-based reservations. He pointed to the support the NDA gave to the caste survey undertaken in Bihar in 2023.
The minister said he strongly opposed the lateral entry recruitments in bureaucracy as his party had strong reservations over the issue.
He said he brought it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's notice that there was an unrest among Scheduled Castes and OBCs over the UPSC decision to fill up key government posts through lateral entry. The move was subsequently axed.
Taking party to Jharkhand
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president also said that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will again form a government in Bihar, where Assembly elections are due in late 2025.
The first-time Union minister said he intended to expand his largely Bihar-centric political party and indicated that it will contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Jharkhand.
Asked about keeping his flock together, Paswan asserted all his five Lok Sabha MPs will stay with him and said those predicting that his party will break are only daydreaming.