'Scrap Agniveer,' 1st missile hit at Modi

New Delhi : Chirag Paswan, whose party has pulled off a stunner by winning all five Lok Sabha seats it contested, said that he is in favour of a review of the Agnipath scheme and a nationwide caste census. Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is the second NDA ally after JDU to push for the Agnipath review and caste census.

JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi said, "A section of voters has been upset over the Agniveer scheme. Our party wants those shortcomings which have been questioned by the public to be discussed in detail and removed.

"On UCC, as the national president of the party, CM had written to the Law Commission chief. We are not against it but a solution should be found by talking to all stakeholders."

On caste-based census, KC Tyagi said, "No party in the country has said no to caste-based census. Bihar has shown the path. The PM too didn't oppose it in the all-party delegation. Caste-based census is the call of the hour. We will pursue it."

He also said, "There is no pre-condition. There is unconditional support. But Bihar be given the special status is something which we have in our heart..."

The Janata Dal-United, the support of which along with the Telugu Desam Party is crucial for the new National Democratic Alliance government, will likely make a bid for 'up to three' cabinet berths, a senior leader of the Nitish Kumar-led party said on Thursday.

With 12 MPs, the JD-U is the second biggest Bharatiya Janata Party ally after the TDP's 16, and leaders of the saffron party are in touch with allies over ministerial berths and other issues.

"We are now eyeing up to three cabinet berths...," the JD-U leader said.

Another top party leader said it is hopeful of a 'respectable' representation in the Union Council of Ministers.

"The matter of cabinet berths will be decided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and our party chief Nitish Kumar ji. But, it should be respectable," Shrawan Kumar, JD-U leader and Bihar Rural Development Minister, told PTI.

In 2019, a 'token representation' of just one berth had been turned down by Nitish Kumar.