JD (U) leader and former Bihar Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary, who had earlier flayed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for ignoring “Dalit causes”, will preside over an event in Patna where former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha will be the lead speaker at a discussion on reservation. The meeting, called by Vanchit Varg Morcha — a non-political forum — will be held at A N Sinha Institute of Social Sciences, Patna, on November 10. Sinha had recently criticised the Narendra Modi government’s handling of the country’s economy. When asked if he would be attending the event, he said on WhatsApp: “Yes, I am.” Choudhary said Sinha would “deliver the keynote address on vanchiton ke aarthik, samajik evam rojgar ki vartaman sthiti (current economic, social and employment status of the deprived). We are looking forward to his views as we decide to conduct a seminar on reservation at Patna every month. We are not the one to keep quiet now.” JD(U) national spokesperson K C Tyagi told The Indian Express: “The JD(U) in general and the party in particular has been sensitive to Dalit causes. Nitish Kumar was the one who made Choudhary the Speaker twice and Jitan Ram Manjhi, another Mahadalit, the CM. It is not fair of Udayji to take on Nitish Kumar, who has done a lot for Dalit uplift and just yesterday announced reservation in outsourcing.” Choudhary had told The Indian Express that the Nitish Kumar government had been “ignoring the causes of Dalits and no longer had a hold over the Mahadalit constituency”. Choudhary had also said that the BJP would keep “ill-treating” Nitish Kumar. He said the motive behind floating Vanchit Varg Morcha was to create awareness on tweaking of reservation norms in the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test to study medicine. He also claimed support of several Dalit leaders and scholars for his cause. Rashtriya Lok Samta Party state vice-president Jitendra Nath, who has joined hands with Choudhary, said: “The efforts should not be linked with politics as it would dilute the very purpose.”
