CPI(ML) Liberation demands rollback of Agnipath scheme, special category status for Bihar

Patna, Jun 8 (PTI) The CPI(ML) Liberation, which won two Lok Sabha seats in Bihar on Saturday demanded immediate rollback of the Agnipath recruitment scheme by the Centre.

The party, which won the Aarah and Karakat Lok Sabha seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, also said that the Centre should consider the INDIA bloc demand for conducting caste census and giving special category status to Bihar for the overall growth of the state.

The CPI(ML) Liberation also said it would revive its long-pending demand for the inclusion of Bhojpuri language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution so that it can be accorded the status of an official language.

Talking to reporters here on Saturday, CPI (ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, said, "INDIA bloc has been demanding scrapping of the Agnipath recruitment scheme since the beginning. We demand its immediate rollback by the Centre as it is very discriminatory and unjustified. Our party is also opposing this scheme right from the beginning." He said, "The CPI (ML) Liberation, which is part of the INDIA bloc, firmly believes that the country needs a caste census in the country. It will help the government in identifying those population (castes) who are economically and socially backward. We will mount pressure on the NDA-led Central government to immediately start the process of conducting caste census in the country".

Elaborating the party's demand for granting special category status to Bihar, Bhattacharya, said, "The NDA government at the Centre must grant special category status to Bihar. We hope that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is part of the NDA alliance, will press for granting special status to Bihar as it will help the state to grow at a faster rate. This will also generate more employment and invite investment in the state".

Bhattacharya said, "The BJP-led Central government must consider our demand of inclusion of Bhojpuri in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. The language, which is world-wide popular, is deeply rooted in districts like Bhojpur, Rohtas, Kaimur, Buxar, Saran, East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Jehanabad in Bihar and several parts of Jharkhand. We demand the Centre to immediately accord official language status to Bhojpuri." Bhojpuri language is popular in Arrah, Karakat, Sasaram, Buxar, Purvi Champaran, Saran, Siwan, Paschim and Gopalganj Lok Sabha constituencies.

"Scheduled status brings certain advantages to a language. It makes it mandatory for the government to take measures for the development of a scheduled language so that it grows and becomes an effective means of communication in due course of time", he said. PTI PKD RG