Chirag Paswan's letter to PM: Warns of Dalit protests on August 9

New Delhi, July 26: Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MP Chirag Paswan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding sacking of Justice AK Goyal as National Green Tribunal (NGT) Chairman. Justice Goyal was the judge who had ruled against SC/ST Act.

In his letter, Chirag Paswan, the son of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, cautioned that protests by Dalit groups on August 9 could be more aggressive than April protests (Bhima Koregaon protests).

Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday said several Dalit MPs of the National Democratic Alliance have "expressed concern" over the appointment of Justice AK Goel as the National Green Tribunal's chairperson. Paswan said Goel's appointment has sent a "wrong message", because he was "the judge who ruled against" the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989, reported The Indian Express.

It may be recalled that Dalit groups had called for a Bharat Bandh on April 2 in protest against a recent Supreme Court order which, they claimed, had diluted some stringent provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Protesters had turned violent at several places, which resulted in death of at least 11 people and destruction of property across the country.