Paswan calls for reservation in private sector

Amid a controversy over the issue of reservation for weaker sections in the country, union minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday demanded such quota in the private sector too and linked it with the Maoism menace in the country.

The central government should come up with reservation in the private sector for scheduled castes and tribes, he told the media here.

"Government jobs cannot be for everybody. The government can only create an environment for job creation," he said, and added that if a private sector firm avails of funds from the government, they should adopt its reservation policy too.

The minister said that his Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government, had made this demand earlier also.

Paswan said he was concerned over taking away of land from those from the backward class, forcing the youth from this section to take to activities like Maoism.

He, meanwhile, praised the Modi government's efforts in setting up a memorial to Babasaheb Ambedkar at his birthplace Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.

Taking a dig at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in his native state Bihar, the LJP chief said reservation should be for the uplift of backward classes and not for political gains.

"The present government in Bihar is a result of caste-based politics," Paswan, a parliamentarian from Hajipur in Bihar, said.

The minister said the National Food Security Act will be implemented in 10 more states from the coming fiscal. Already, 11 states have implemented it, Paswan said, and hinted at total computerisation of the public distribution system.