New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS): Commenting on the gruesome rape and murder of a junior doctor in Kolkata, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan on Monday rebuked the Opposition for what he termed "selective politics" in addressing crimes against women.
He also urged all the political parties to unite in the fight against the criminal mindset that leads to such atrocities against women.
While extending his wishes on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, Paswan emphasised the importance of fostering respect for women to prevent incidents like the Nirbhaya case from re-occurring.
"I wish everyone a very happy Raksha Bandhan. Today, I also remember all the sisters who are no longer with us because they fell prey to a criminal mentality. In such a situation, I hope every youth in the nation respects every woman as he does his sister, so that cases like Nirbhaya never take place in our country," he told IANS.
Paswan also condemned the Opposition for raising concerns about crimes in NDA-ruled states only, while remaining silent on similar incidents in states governed by the opposition parties.
"Selective politics in such crimes is wrong. The Opposition always highlights crimes in the NDA-ruled states but remains silent about those in their own states. This mindset is wrong," he said.
Calling for a united stand against the criminal mindset, the LJP chief stressed that both ruling and opposition parties must come together to fight these issues.
"If we don't unite in situations like these, it will only strengthen the criminals. This is the time to set examples so that no one dares to commit such heinous crimes in the future," Paswan added.
Commenting on reports of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren's possible departure from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the LJP leader said, "It would be a good thing if he joins us. However, it is still unclear what his decision is. But from his social media posts, it is evident that he was insulted and humiliated."
The Lok Sabha MP also expressed his party's concerns over the Centre's decision to introduce a lateral entry system into the bureaucracy, noting that it lacks provisions for reservations.
"My party believes that all government recruitments should include provisions for the reservation system. Since reservations are not available in the private sector, they should definitely be present in government sectors," he said.
"In this lateral entry scheme, the reservation system was not considered, and this is a matter of concern for all of us. Even though I am part of the government, my party is not in favour of this," Paswan said.