
Will bin Waqf Act if voted to power, vows Tejashwi; JD(U) terms it ‘eyewash'
PATNA: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday claimed that the ruling NDA in Bihar was 'on its way out', and the new government in the state led by the Mahagathbandhan will 'consign to dustbin' the Waqf Act brought by the Narendra Modi dispensation at the Centre.
He addressed a 'Save Waqf, Save Constitution' rally, held at the historical Gandhi Maidan here, where leaders from various political parties had turned up, wearing black bands as a mark of protest. Tejashwi's remarks were aimed at rallying the minority community's support.
'I would also ask my Muslim brethren in Bihar to remember that the NDA government is on its way out. In November, a new pro-poor government will be installed in the state and it will consign the Waqf Act to the dustbin,' said Yadav, who will be leading the INDIA bloc charge in the assembly polls.
In response, JD(U) state president Umesh Kushwaha accused the RJD of using the minority community as a vote bank. He dismissed the party's sympathy for Muslims as mere 'eyewash,' arguing that it was a tactic to garner votes in the upcoming elections. Kushwaha further claimed that the people of Bihar were well aware of the RJD's 'nepotistic' mentality.
Tejashwi also took a swipe at BJP, saying the country's Independence was the result of sacrifices by all communities and criticised the Election Commission's efforts to revise the voter list. 'Be on your guard against the Election Commission's bid to help the BJP by holding a special intensive revision of the voters' list. We have to fight it out and thwart any conspiracy to deprive people of their right to vote,' he said.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Indian Express
31 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Unmasking the social justice script of the Bihar Mahagathbandhan
When the Bihar government under the Mahagathbandhan banner initiated a state-level caste-based survey in 2023, it was presented as a transformative step toward social justice. Headlines glorified it, campaign speeches claimed it was a revolutionary milestone, and Tejashwi Yadav projected himself as a champion of backward caste empowerment. In reality, this was a political manoeuvre, engineered more for headlines than for genuine upliftment. Despite being marketed as a caste census, the exercise was no census in the legal or scientific sense. A census is a rigorous, legally-backed exercise typically conducted under the Census Act of 1948 by the central government. It involves trained enumerators, standardised formats, multiple rounds of verification, and most importantly, national uniformity in execution. This, however, was a state-level caste survey with no statutory backing, limited standardisation, and questionable accuracy. By contrast, the so-called 'caste survey' under the Mahagathbandhan government was a hurriedly executed, state-level data collection exercise; conducted without clear methodological transparency and was not supported by any judicial or policy framework to integrate its findings into actionable governance. In short, it was not a caste census, but a political sampler, and a poor one at that. The most glaring weakness of this exercise was its failure to move beyond numerical enumeration. It told us how many people belong to a particular caste, but it said nothing about how they live. No data was collected on: Poverty levels by caste, literacy and dropout rates, access to health and sanitation, participation in public employment or government schemes, regional disparities within caste groups, etc. In essence, the survey reduced Bahujans, Dalits, EBCs, and Adivasis to population units, not policy subjects. It provided no basis for targeted interventions, sectoral budgeting, or proportional programmatic allocation. It offered visibility without viability. Tejashwi Yadav, despite his political positioning, did little to bridge this gap. The absence of follow-up frameworks — no deprivation index, no targeted welfare expansion, no legal roadmap — shows how shallow the intent really was. The real objective was clear: Consolidate the M-Y (Muslim-Yadav) vote bank. This M-Y axis has been the bedrock of the RJD's electoral strategy since its inception. The caste survey functioned as a numerical reaffirmation of this strategy, cloaked in the language of representation. However, the most deprived and voiceless sections of Bihar's caste spectrum, that is, the Mahadalits, SC sub-groups, Adivasis, EBCs like Nonia, Kevat, Tanti, and Musahar, remained peripheral to both data collection and policy direction. There was no outreach to Bahujan scholars, no consultation with grassroots Dalit activists, no representation from subaltern collectives in the design or analysis phase. The entire survey was structured to consolidate electoral strength, not social strength. One of the more politically charged demands emerging from Tejashwi Yadav post-survey was that the proposed 85 per cent reservation (SC+ST+OBC+EBC+others) be included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, thus insulating it from judicial scrutiny. But on what scientific basis is this 85 per cent figure determined? There is no caste-wise deprivation matrix to support it. Has there been any expert committee that has recommended this based on empirical findings? Is the Ninth Schedule a magic wand? Even laws under it can be reviewed by courts if they violate fundamental rights (IR Coelho v State of Tamil Nadu, 2007). More worryingly, there has been no formal dialogue with the Union Government, no all-party resolution, and no legal roadmap for such inclusion. It remains a talking point, not a policy position. The Mahagathbandhan government had the opportunity. It should have constituted a Backwardness Commission to analyse data and recommend proportional schemes; created a deprivation index for each caste, using indicators like access to education, employment, landholding, and healthcare; initiated sector-wise resource allocation plans based on this index; set up legal groundwork through a constitutional commission for justifying any enhancement in reservation; and launched intra-caste equity programs, especially for sub-castes within SC and OBCs that remain disadvantaged. None of this happened. There were no schemes for EBCs, no Dalit entrepreneurship missions, no targeted educational reforms. What emerged instead was a PR campaign with Tejashwi Yadav at its centre, drawing attention more for performance than policy. While he may still be seen by some as a political successor to Mandal, the delivery deficit reveals how thin the claims really are. While other parties reduced caste surveys to symbolic optics and vote-bank manipulation, Chirag Paswan emerged as a true champion of Bahujan and Dalit empowerment. As Union Minister, he strongly advocated for a scientific, nationwide caste census that goes far beyond mere headcounts. His vision incorporates real indicators — education, employment, housing, income — designed not just to represent communities, but to uplift them. Chirag Paswan's approach reflects an understanding that justice cannot rest on slogans. His insistence on reliable data, institutional accountability, and constitutionally sound implementation sets him apart from leaders who seek to use the Bahujan identity for electoral staging. By working toward policies grounded in empirical evidence and legal clarity, he has positioned himself as one of the few national leaders genuinely invested in transformative social justice. His role has not just been performative; it has been policy-oriented. His work stands as a counter-model to the politics of Tejashwi Yadav and the Congress in Telangana -— where counting was the goal, not correcting. Chirag's politics is not about how many are included in a speech but how many are included in development. The Mahagathbandhan's caste survey failed because it mistook enumeration for emancipation. It was an electoral strategy disguised as empowerment. The Bahujans, once again, were used as political capital, reduced to statistics, not stakeholders. There has been no follow-up scholarship scheme, no targeted employment drive, no caste-wise health mission, no SC/ST/OBC land redistribution proposal. Just data and drama. Social justice is not a rallying cry. It is a roadmap. It requires painstaking institutional effort, credible data architecture, and inclusive policy building. Tejashwi Yadav fails on all three counts. He merely counted the Bahujans. Chirag Paswan is fighting to count them in. The writer is Member of Parliament, Jamui (LS), Chief Whip, Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas)


India Gazette
42 minutes ago
- India Gazette
"We have punched Marathi haters, unity should remain as it is": Shiv Sena (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray on withdrawal of three-language policy
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 30 (ANI): Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday celebrated the withdrawal of the three-language policy in the state and stated that they had punched Marathi haters, and the unity in the state should remain as it is. He further stated that a new committee led by Narendra Jadhav would report on the decision, further stating that the government had appointed financial experts for the decision in the education sector. 'We have punched Marathi haters; this unity should remain as it is. We appreciate the political parties which came together with us despite different stands. Temporarily, they (the Government) have cancelled the GR. If they hadn't cancelled, they would have seen the protest on 5th July. Many leaders from Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP are going to join us. A new committee led by Dr Narendra Jadhav will report on this. The government has appointed financial experts for the education sector's decision. We will stage a victory rally on 5th July,' Thackeray said, speaking to reporters here. Meanwhile, party MP Sanjay Raut lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for making false claims of former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray accepting the Mashelkar committee's report on the three-language policy. Addressing the media, Raut stated that lying was the BJP's 'national policy.', further challenging the BJP that if Thackeray had submitted the Mashelkar committee report, it should have been made public. 'Lying is the BJP's national policy. These people are working with this policy in Maharashtra. If Uddhav Thackeray had submitted a report on the Mashelkar committee, it should be made public. A committee report has been released and placed in the cabinet. Can't this be discussed? You forcefully discussed Hindi with the cabinet -- you did it because it's a national policy. If any national policy comes before the state, then discussing it is very important. Devendra Fadnavis has become the chief minister three times--does he not have that much knowledge?' Raut said, addressing a press conference. Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, informing about the cancellation of the resolutions that were passed on April 16 and June 17, announced that a committee will be formed to discuss the implementation of the three-language formula in the state. 'A committee under Dr Narendra Jadhav will be formed to discuss the implementation of the three-language formula in the state... Until the committee submits its report, both government resolutions (of April 16 and June 17) have been cancelled by the government,' Devendra Fadnavis said. On April 16, the Maharashtra government passed a resolution that mandated Hindi as the compulsory third language in Marathi and English-medium schools. However, in response to the backlash, the government revised the policy on June 17 through an amended resolution, stating, 'Hindi will be the third language. For those who want to learn another language, at least 20 willing students are required.' (ANI)


India Gazette
42 minutes ago
- India Gazette
Lying is BJP's
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 30 (ANI): Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for making false claims of former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray accepting the Mashelkar committee's report on the three-language policy. Addressing the media, Raut stated that lying was the BJP's 'national policy.', further challenging the BJP that if Thackeray had submitted the Mashelkar committee report, it should have been made public. 'Lying is the BJP's national policy. These people are working with this policy in Maharashtra. If Uddhav Thackeray had submitted a report on the Mashelkar committee, it should be made public. A committee report has been released and placed in the cabinet. Can't this be discussed? You forcefully discussed Hindi with the cabinet -- you did it because it's a national policy. If any national policy comes before the state, then discussing it is very important. Devendra Fadnavis has become the chief minister three times--does he not have that much knowledge?' Raut said, addressing a press conference. Earlier on June 29, the Maharashtra government had cancelled the two orders on the implementation of the three-language policy after facing heavy criticism from the opposition, and being accused of 'imposing Hindu' on the people of the state. On June 24, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis while making an announcement on the three-language formula had alleged that it was former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who had accepted the recommendations of the Dr Raghunath Mashelkar committee to introduce a three-language policy from class 1 to 12, and had also constituted a panel for its implementation, according to a press note by the Maharashtra Government. 'The decision on the Three-Language Formula was taken by Uddhav Thackeray himself during his tenure,' Fadnavis said. Following the announcement, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray said that the government resolutions were cancelled solely due to the pressure from the Marathi people. 'The decision to impose the Hindi language under the pretext of teaching three languages from the first grade has finally been withdrawn. The government has cancelled the two GRs related to this. This cannot be called belated wisdom, because this imposition was withdrawn solely due to the pressure from the Marathi people. Why the government was so adamant about the Hindi language and who exactly was pressuring the government for this remains a mystery,' Raj Thackeray wrote on X. Raj Thackeray further defied the formation of the committee on the three-language policy, saying that they assume this decision has been permanently cancelled and the government shouldn't create 'confusion with the committee's report again.' 'One more thing: the government has once again appointed a new committee. I say clearly, let the committee's report come or not, but such actions will not be tolerated again, and that's final! The government should engrave this in their minds forever! We assume this decision has been permanently cancelled, and the people of Maharashtra have assumed the same. So, do not create confusion with the committee's report again, otherwise, the government should note that this committee will not be allowed to function in Maharashtra,' he said. (ANI)