Manjhi includes Paswan in Mahadalit category

Going ahead with his efforts to shower largesse, Bihar Cabinet today approved a politically sensitive proposal of including the Paswan caste in the 'Mahadalit' category.
The decision was taken at a special meeting of the Cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi here.
The Paswan caste had been left out from the Mahadalit category during former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's time when he had constituted a Mahadalit commission and announced many special welfare programmes for them.
Union Food minister Ramvilas Paswan has expressed resentment over Kumar's decision of non-inclusion of Mahadalits all along and maintained it was due to his political rivalry with him.

The Manjhi cabinet also approved a proposal, in principle, to appoint "Vikas Mitra" among Scheduled Tribes families to speed up welfare of STs in numerous programmes, B Pradhan, Principal Secretary Cabinet Coordination Department told reporters.
Manjhi also announced a gift for mediapersons by okaying a proposal of pension scheme for scribes.
In accordance with Bihar mediapersons pension scheme, a sum of Rs 5000 per month would be provided to members of press after retirement at the age of 60. In case of death a sum of Rs 2500 per month would be provided to family of the beneficiary scribes.
Journalists and photographers of daily and fortnightly newspapers, magazines, electronic media, news portal, news channels and news agencies would benefit from the pension scheme.