Paswan also played a key role in enacting a new Consumer Protection Act that says the celebrities could be ‘banned’ for endorsing products if it is found to be misleading.
Modi phenomenon causing sea change in Dalit perception of BJP: Paswan
(June 17, 2016)
By Nirendra Dev
New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) There is a “sea change” in the perception by Dalits, backward class and scheduled tribes in the last two years towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) largely due to the pro-active role taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has said.
“The prime minister has been doing enough to reach out to these communities. I find glimpses of (the late Prime Minister) V.P. Singh’s commitments in him. V.P. Singh was a raja and (belonged to) an upper caste but he stood by the backward classes and so Mandal Commission (on reservations). Today Prime Minister Modi goes abroad and names B. R. Ambedkar among the great individuals of India. It only shows his commitment,” Paswan told IANS in an interview here.
Paswan, a strong proponent of reservation politics, who has been also pushing the case of quotas in the private sector, said: “There is no contradiction in the Modi cabinet in enunciation of such demands.”
“The Prime Minister himself is committed to the welfare of the people especially the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes,” he said, adding: “This is clearly reflected in the policies like Stand Up scheme wherein banks have been directed to boost entrepreneurship among SC-STs.”
This initiative alone can provide jobs to at least 2.5 million people from these communities, he noted.
To a question on remarks against reservations by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat last year, Paswan said: “Everyone has said that statement was misinterpreted and was wrong. But Modi-ji said reservations cannot be done away with as long as he is alive. What more do you expect?”
To another question, he said the “lip-service” of those who flaunt their secular credentials is “always politically motivated and mean”.
“Right to life is more important. But the so-called secular government of (Chief Minister) Nitsh Kumar and (RJD chief) Lalu Prasad has failed the people of Bihar,” Paswan contended.
“Jis ma ne beta khoya hae us Ma ko kya kahogey ki aap secular ho (What will you tell the mother who lost her son, that you are running a secular government),” Paswan asked, lashing out at the Bihar administration for its slackness in curbing law and order issues and growing incidents of violence.
“Therefore, I am happy to be with the (BJP-led) NDA than to be with those who pay lip service to secularism and only bring in criminilisation in politics.”
“Look at Jharkhand (once a part of Bihar). It’s in peace. Bihar’s law and order situation is frightening,” Paswan maintained.
He also said the relevance of regional parties cannot be ignored.
“Yes, I am in touch with old regional players like (N.) Chandrababu Naidu (TDP),” he said.
“But the regional politics too have grown over the years. Most regional parties are associated with national parties. The synthesis has grown over the years and all this can strengthen the cause of federalism as is being pursued by the Centre,” he said.
Asked whether popularity of the Narendra Modi phenomenon has taken a beating vis-a-vis the strengthening in the last two years of regional leaders like Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee and J. Jayalalitha, Paswan retorted sharply: “Your theory fails when it comes to election results in Assam. The BJP never had a popular face or great base there. The BJP won the elections in Modi’s name. Earlier, the BJP won key elections in states like Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Haryana.”
To another question, Paswan said his Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) is keen to contest assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh as a constituent of the NDA and so a party delegation will meet BJP president Amit Shah towards this.
Rice at Rs 2 per kg is unimaginable elsewhere: Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan (IANS Interview)
The "last two years have been extremely satisfactory" as certain basic issues of people's livelihood could be addressed, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has said, but lamented that while the Centre bears the cost of providing subsidised rice at Rs 2 kg, it is the states which claim the credit for this.
"While we give subsidies from the Centre, the states run away with the credit and the media blames the (Narendra) Modi government. I have said this in Parliament also. I would like to tell that claims made by certain states that they are providing rice and paddy free of cost to the people is not true. It's the Centre which is giving this," Paswan asserted in an interview to IANS.
"Nowhere in the planet can you imagine the quantum of government intervention to ensure PDS (public distribution system) supply for the poor and the needy. Rice at Rs 2 per kg is unimaginable elsewhere," Paswan said.
"If the price of rice is Rs 30 per kg, then the Centre is giving a subsidy of Rs 28 and the consumers pay just Rs 2," the minister stressed.
"The contribution from the Uttar Pradesh government is zero. In Bihar also it's zero. If the price of wheat is Rs 20 per kg, we are feeding the entire country at the rate of Rs 2. Our work in the last two years has been revolutionary," Paswan maintained.
Little wonder then, Paswan said, running the Food Ministry was a "thankless job" wherein no credit is given for bringing down the prices.
"It is a thankless job. Compared to last year, prices of various items like wheat and rice have decreased. Compared to May 2016, prices of pulses like Mung and Urad have now decreased as well. But no one will give credit for the good work and proper planning," Paswan said.
"Onion prices fall due to good harvest but the farmers suffer because of poor marketing which fetches them just Rs 3 per kg, and then we are accused of neglecting the farmers' welfare," Paswan said.
In this context Paswan said the central government is "going out of the way in more ways than one" to help the farmers by giving enhanced Minimum Support Price (MSP).
The distress of sugarcane farmers has been a matter of concern for the government. These farmers do not get their due from the sugar mills even though the price of sugar has gone up manifold in the last few months.
Referring to the plight of sugarcane farmers and the arrears due to them, Paswan said: "The central government's role was to fix the Fair Remunerative Price (FRP). Essentially the matter is between the state governments and mill owners. But appreciating the gravity of the situation farmers are in, we intervened and nearly 87 per cent of the dues amounting to Rs 6,225 crore has been released."
Price rise has been a major issue which is used by the political opponents to target the Modi government. The minister, however, stressed that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is working to keep a check on the price rise of essential commodities. Short- and long-term strategies are being planned in this regard, Paswan said.
He said a core group of ministers -- comprising Arun Jaitley (Finance), Nirmala Sitharaman (Commerce), Radha Mohan Singh (Agriculture) and he himself -- is regularly monitoring the situation and they have been largely successful in controlling prices.
Regarding the Public Distribution System, Paswan said the problem of pilferage is being looked into.
"For the first time since Independence the issue of leakage in Public Distribution System is being addressed. More steps have been planned," the minister said, adding that steps like linking the Aadhaar cards to the ration card beneficiaries has resulted in saving of a whopping Rs 10,000 crore.
"We tracked about 16.2 million bogus ration cards. Decisions like direct benefit transfer to the people in need has helped overall improvement in the system. There are also 117,000 points of sales introduced with biometric facilities wherein beneficiaries get either foodgrains or cash according to their entitlement. These are some of the revolutionary steps undertaken by the NDA government," Paswan said.
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