BJP ally LJP seeks dismissal of NGT chairman

The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), a key BJP ally in Bihar, asked the government today to dismiss National Green Tribunal (NGT) Chairman Adarsh Kumar Goel, who was part of a Supreme Court bench that "diluted" the provisions of a law on atrocities against Dalits and tribals.

LJP leader Chirag Paswan, whose father Ram Vilas Paswan is a cabinet minister in the Narendra Modi government, said Goel should immediately be sacked and the original provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act restored.

He warned that if this was not done, the nationwide protests announced by Dalit organisations on August 9 could turn out to be more intense than the April 2 agitation.

The protests during the April 2 "Bharat Bandh" had turned violent in various parts of the country, leaving several people dead and causing massive damage to properties.

Paswan said Goel's appointment as the NGT chairman after he retired from the apex court had sent out a wrong message and agitated the Dalit community.

Expressing its concern over the misuse of the SC/ST Act, the Supreme Court, in an order in March, had introduced several safeguards, which according to Dalit organisations and major political parties had rendered the law weak and ineffective.

Paswan said the government must take steps to restore the original provisions of the act by bringing a new bill in Parliament or through an ordinance before August 9 to pacify the Dalit organisations.

At a meeting of the Dalit MPs here yesterday, Ram Vilas Paswan, who is also the LJP president, had said Goel's appointment had sent out a wrong message.

A large chunk of the Dalits is a loyal vote-bank of the LJP in Bihar and the party has been strongly taking up issues related to the backward community.