PATNA: Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan has created a flutter in political circles by asserting that he would prefer quitting his ministerial berth rather than compromising with his principles by following the precedent set by his late father Ram Vilas Paswan.“I will not hesitate to relinquish (laat maar denge) my ministerial post like my father did”, Chirag remarked while speaking at a function of the party’s SC/ST cell in the state capital on Monday late evening. “I will be in the NDA till “Narendra Modi is my Prime Minister,” he sought to clarify.Later, he told media persons that he was speaking about the Congress-led UPA. “My father was a minister in the UPA government too. So many developments took place which were against the interests of Dalits. Even pictures of Baba Saheb Ambedkar were not put up at public events. So, we parted ways,” he added.Union Minister said that the present regime at the centre had been sensitive to his concerns about Dalits. “Irrespective of what alliance my father was with, his role was common, and I am in the same role now. Whatever alliance I am with, I will work as protector of your (SCs/STs) interest. You do not need to worry about your rights till I am with that alliance (NDA)”, he remarked.“The day I realise that justice is not being meted out with my people or we are not heard in the alliance, my father had not thought a minute before quitting his ministerial post and I will do the same thing,” he remarked.In the past, he objected to some important policies of the central government, including Waqf amendment bill and lateral entry in government jobs.Besides this, he also opposed the Supreme Court’s decision to identify sub-categories and creamy layer in Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe quota. Later, the Centre rolled back its decisions after the opposition by Chirag and some other allies. He also vigorously supported caste census, which has been demanded by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
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