RJD demands reserved seats for minorities

RANCHI: The minority wing of Rastriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Saturday demanded reservation of four seats for minority candidates in the state, as they constitute 35 per cent of the total population.
Addressing a Press conference here, Manjar Amin, state president, RJD minority wing, said the minority committee including Sikhs, Muslims, etc. should get fair representation.
As such four of the 14 seats should be left for them, he said.
The demand comes at a time when the name of RJD leader Girinath Singh is doing rounds at the party high command as a likely candidate from Chatra parliamentary seat.
Amin said he would meet RJD supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav in a couple of days and discuss the matter.
Though Amin indicated that members wanted the party to field minority candidates from Jamshedpur, Koderma, Chatra and Palamu, the final decision over the seats would be taken after a thorough analysis of seats and voting pattern.
He said the wing would stick to its demand even if the alliance with the JMM and the Congress materialises, as the aim of the alliance was to defeat communal forces.
Moreover, the alliance claims to be a secular one, and as such it should not have any problems in fielding minority candidates, he added.