Chirag Paswan hits back at Rahul Gandhi’s caste discrimination remarks

In response to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s recent remarks on caste discrimination, Union Minister of Meals Processing Industries and Lok Janshakti Social gathering (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan on Saturday (August 29, 2026) demanded that those that have been in energy earlier than the BJP regime ought to clarify why discrimination in opposition to Dalits nonetheless persists in society.

Mr. Paswan was talking on Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s current remarks on the purification ritual at a venue in Uttarakhand the place get together president Mallikarjun Kharge had addressed a gathering at Haldwani’s Ramlila floor on August 8, 2026. Mr. Gandhi, on Saturday, requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “file an FIR in opposition to those that carried out the purification ritual”. He mentioned that what was carried out there was equal to “untouchability” and that Dalits throughout the nation face such incidents.

In the meantime, he additionally demanded the resignation of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief, Santosh Kumar Suman from the Bihar Cupboard after the get together, an NDA ally, sought a evaluate of the reservation coverage and sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Mr. Suman and his father, Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Jitan Ram Manjhi, each on Saturday, nevertheless, requested for Mr. Paswan’s resignation first and requested him to “correctly perceive” what they’d mentioned earlier on the problem of reservation that had triggered rift amongst ruling NDA allies.

Mr. Paswan, whereas chatting with media individuals, strongly defended caste-based reservation, calling it an “unyielding constitutional proper fairly than charity”.

Whereas saying additional that reservation stays absolutely obligatory as a result of caste-based discrimination and social inequalities haven’t disappeared from fashionable society, Mr. Paswan asserted that “reservation, gifted by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar within the Structure, can’t be abolished or undermined by any energy on earth as a result of teams or protesters demand it”. “If discrimination continued in society regardless of this, it implies that they (who dominated the nation for lengthy) too, didn’t strengthen the foundations successfully”, he mentioned.

Defending the constitutional foundation for reservation, Mr. Paswan added that “it stems from social discrimination and untouchability, not financial standards”. “Those that seeks change in its foundation, should change the Structure”.

Mr. Paswan additional mentioned, “he (Mr. Suman) ought to resign first (from the Cupboard) earlier than demanding this”. “The premise of reservation was social discrimination and it shouldn’t be considered from an financial perspective… discussing it from an financial perspective goes in opposition to the Structure”, reiterated the Union Minister.

Mr. Suman responded to Mr. Paswan on Saturday in a submit on social media deal with X, “so far as the problem of my resignation, I’m prepared for this, however my youthful brother (Chirag Paswan) ought to begin this by resigning first. My youthful brother ought to perceive higher that I had by no means ever spoken concerning the creamy-layer, neither had talked about ending the reservation however, of sub-categorisation in reservation regime and each shouldn’t be blended to confuse folks… .” His father Jitan Ram Manjhi in Gaya on Saturday too defended what he had mentioned earlier.

“He (Chirag Paswan) ought to resign first, after which all of us will comply with him… he should perceive correctly what Santosh Suman had mentioned…”. “Those that have been left behind in society ought to get the advantages of reservation because the time has modified… it is time for Gen-Z and other people’s aspiration”, Mr. Suman added whereas chatting with presspersons.