LJP seeks NGT chairman's ouster, says support to BJP issue-based

Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan-led LJP today turned up the heat on the Modi government, saying its support to the BJP is issue-based as it sought a law to restore the stringent measures of an Act on atrocities against Dalits and removal of NGT Chairman A K Goel by August 9.

LJP leader Chirag Paswan said on Friday the LJP could review its stand and join the Dalit protest if the Modi government met its two conditions by August 7.

"We will cross the bridge when it comes," he said when asked if his party would consider walking out of the BJP-led NDA if its demands are not met by the August 9 deadline, as quoted by PTI.

On April 2, nearly a dozen people died in violence that flared up across five states when Dalit groups called for a Bharat Bandh or nationwide shutdown to protest against the Supreme Court order.

Protecting interests of these communities was at the root of the LJP's tie up with the BJP in 2014, he told a press conference that his party has been demanding an ordinance to restore the original provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for over four months but the government has not done so.

Chirag Paswan said incidents of atrocities against the community have risen following the verdict and FIRs were not being registered by police.

The LJP has criticised his appointment with Chirag Paswan writing to Modi seeking his removal, saying it has sent a wrong message. Dalits believe that he has been rewarded for his judgement, he said.

His father has also written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the issue.

Chirag Paswan expressed the hope that the prime minister will take appropriate decisions once he returns from his foreign visit later in the evening.

Paswan said if the demands are not met, then the protests during 'Bharat bandh' could be much worse than what happened on April 2, when Dalit outfits had given a similar call. More than 10 persons had died during the protest.

Despite his warning, Paswan says the LJP will not walk out of the BJP-led alliance like the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

Earlier this month, Paswan had said all politics was the art of the possible when asked if his party might join the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar. A day later, his father had clarified that the LJP was firmly in the BJP-led NDA.