Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Tuesday launched a sharp public attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his recent remarks on caste discrimination, accusing him of politicising the issue for electoral gain. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief also demanded the resignation of Bihar minister Santosh Kumar Suman from the state cabinet, escalating tensions within the National Democratic Alliance just as the coalition prepares for another round of electoral bargaining in the state.
What happened
Paswan’s intervention came in two parts, directed at two different political opponents. The first was aimed at Gandhi, whom he accused of selectively invoking caste discrimination while the Congress had historically failed to address the concerns of Dalits and Other Backward Classes. Speaking to reporters, Paswan did not specify which remarks by Gandhi he was responding to, but his criticism aligned with broader BJP-led attacks on the Congress leader’s recent statements on social justice.
The second, and more pointed, was directed at Santosh Kumar Suman, a minister in the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government. Paswan demanded Suman’s removal from the cabinet. Suman belongs to the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), or HAM(S), an NDA ally in Bihar led by former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.
The demand follows a request by HAM(S) to review the reservation policy and pursue sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Paswan, whose party draws its core support from Dalit communities, framed the demand as a direct challenge to the interests of marginalised groups.
Why it matters
Paswan’s demand for Suman’s resignation signals a fresh point of friction within the NDA in Bihar, where seat-sharing arrangements and caste arithmetic remain delicate ahead of upcoming state elections. The Hindustani Awam Morcha’s call for a review of reservation policy has opened a debate within the ruling coalition about whether the existing framework adequately addresses intra-community inequalities among Scheduled Castes.
The dispute is not merely a coalition management problem. It cuts to the central question of how India’s reservation system should treat communities that have, in aggregate, been beneficiaries of affirmative action but whose internal hierarchies mean that some sub-groups have benefited far more than others. Paswan’s position places him firmly against any restructuring of the current SCES list, a stance that resonates with established Dalit organisations but places him at odds with constituents who argue that the most marginalised within Scheduled Castes continue to be excluded.
For the NDA, the episode is a reminder that Bihar’s alliance arithmetic rests on personalities and constituencies that do not always move in the same direction. Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha, and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) each represent distinct social bases, and disagreements over caste policy can quickly translate into public confrontations.
For the Congress, the timing of Paswan’s attack adds to a difficult stretch in which Rahul Gandhi’s statements on social justice have drawn sustained criticism from the ruling party and its allies. The BJP has seized on those remarks in Parliament and on the campaign trail, and Paswan’s intervention extends that line of attack to the Dalit vote bank that the Congress has historically struggled to consolidate.
Background and context
The sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes has been a live legal and political question for years. In 2024, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on whether states can further classify Scheduled Castes to ensure more equitable distribution of reservation benefits. The Court had previously, in the E.V. Chinnaiah versus Union of India decision of 2004, struck down state-level efforts at such sub-classification, holding that the President alone has the power to enumerate castes as Scheduled Castes under Article 341 of the Constitution. Subsequent petitions have urged the Court to reconsider that position.
Article 341 gives the President the authority to specify which castes, races or tribes are deemed Scheduled Castes for the purposes of the Constitution, and Parliament has the power to include or exclude castes from that list. The question before the current Bench is whether, within that enumerated list, states can create internal categories to direct reservation benefits more precisely toward the most disadvantaged sub-groups.
The political resonance of that debate is sharpest in states with large Scheduled Caste populations. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Bihar have all seen demands for sub-classification from within Dalit communities. In Punjab, the issue has been particularly contentious, with the state’s own legislation on the subject struck down by the Supreme Court in 2010. In Bihar, the demand has surfaced repeatedly through organisations representing Mushahar and other sub-groups who argue that the benefits of reservation have been disproportionately captured by a small number of “upper” Dalit castes.
Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) emerged in 2021 after a split in the original Lok Janshakti Party founded by his father, Ram Vilas Paswan. The party draws its organisational strength largely from Dalit communities, particularly the Paswan community itself. In Bihar’s coalition politics, the LJP(RV) has positioned itself as an unconditional ally of the BJP, distinguishing itself from the more conditional alliance of the JD(U).
Jitan Ram Manjhi, who heads HAM(S), was Chief Minister of Bihar for a brief period in 2014 before being replaced by Nitish Kumar. Manjhi, a Dalit leader from the Mushahar community, has periodically pressed the NDA on caste policy and has been a vocal advocate for SC sub-categorisation. His call for a review of reservation policy, and Paswan’s angry response to it, highlights how the same coalition can contain sharply opposed positions on questions of caste justice.
Santosh Kumar Suman, the minister whose resignation Paswan is demanding, represents that fault line from inside the Bihar cabinet. His continuation in office depends on whether the NDA’s senior partners decide that the friction is manageable or whether Paswan’s public posture forces a recalibration.
What to watch next
Several indicators will show whether the dispute deepens or fades. The first is whether Nitish Kumar’s government acts on Paswan’s demand. Removal of a sitting minister on the insistence of a coalition partner is a significant step, and the JD(U)’s response will signal how much weight the LJP(RV) currently carries in the NDA’s internal balance.
The second is the Supreme Court’s pending verdict on SC sub-categorisation. A ruling permitting states to create internal categories within the Scheduled Castes list would fundamentally reshape the politics of reservation and would vindicate the position taken by Manjhi and HAM(S). A ruling reaffirming the E.V. Chinnaiah precedent would strengthen the hand of those, including Paswan, who oppose any restructuring.
The third is whether the demand for Suman’s removal translates into specific seat-sharing demands ahead of upcoming Bihar elections. Paswan has previously been reluctant to accept seat allocations offered by the JD(U) and has at times indicated that his party would prefer to contest independently. If the Suman episode becomes a precursor to a more confrontational negotiation, it could complicate the NDA’s effort to present a united front.
The fourth is whether Rahul Gandhi responds to Paswan’s attack directly. The Congress has often avoided engaging with Paswan personally on caste issues, preferring to focus on the BJP. A direct response, or a counter-demand that Paswan defend the BJP’s record on Dalit welfare, would keep the issue on the national agenda.
Conclusion
Paswan’s intervention is best read as a defensive move, intended to remind both allies and rivals that he, and not Jitan Ram Manjhi, is the principal Dalit voice within the NDA. By publicly framing Manjhi’s demand for sub-categorisation as a threat to Dalit interests, he has forced the coalition into an uncomfortable corner and put his own weight behind the existing reservation framework. Whether that posture survives contact with the Supreme Court’s pending verdict, and with the practical arithmetic of seat-sharing in Bihar, is the question that will define the next phase of this dispute.
Sources
The Hindu: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bihar/chirag-paswan-hits-back-at-rahul-gandhis-caste-discrimination-remarks/article71404753.ece
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Story synopsis gathered from: The Hindu – National — source
