LJP pegs its agenda on Dalits

Ram Vilas Paswan made his pitch in the battle for the bahujan samaj today with the Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) manifesto, replete with radica...

Ram Vilas Paswan made his pitch in the battle for the bahujan samaj today with the Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) manifesto, replete with radical measures — promising to ban the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal and adopt a slew of pro-Dalit policies if voted to power.

Paswan, who has got eight seats — double the Congress share — in the RJD-led alliance in Bihar, also released a list of 25 of its 40 candidates to be fielded across the country.

Charging the BJP and the Parivar with advancing a hidden agenda, the manifesto said: ‘‘The NDA epitomises an unholy, unprincipled alliance and unabashed pursuit of power is its only ideology.’’

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‘‘Social justice and secularism are our faith; power to the poor is our mission,’’ the manifesto said, amid a slew of promises to uplift Dalits.

These include the demand for a ‘‘Dalit regiment’’ in the Army, legal status for Dalit Muslims and Christians, ‘‘adequate representation for Dalits in judiciary, security forces and private sector at all levels” and a ‘‘Reservation Act’’ to take disciplinary action against officers who fail to fill up vacancies reserved for SC/ST candidates.

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