Chirag Paswan receives death threat from ‘hardcore terrorists’, office seeks security upgrade

Union Minister Chirag Paswan received a death threat on Tuesday, with his office seeking enhanced security and a thorough investigation into the matter.

According to his office, an unsigned communication containing two mobile numbers was received at the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. Upon opening it, officials found a direct threat to the minister’s life.

In a letter to Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Paswan’s additional private secretary Alok Kumar Singh quoted the threatening message as saying: “You will be killed shortly by hardcore terrorists.”

Paswan, who is the Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, is a Z-category VIP protectee and is currently provided security by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

The minister’s office has requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to review his security arrangements and augment them if necessary, citing the reported threat and his scheduled public engagements.

The MHA has not yet commented on the matter.

Chirag Paswan, Manjhi clash over SC quota review

The reported threat comes days after Paswan publicly demanded the resignations of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) founder and Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and his son, Bihar minister Santosh Kumar Suman, over their call for a review of Scheduled Caste (SC) reservations.

The disagreement centres on demands to review SC/ST quotas and introduce sub-categorisation to ensure benefits reach the most disadvantaged communities.

“We are in favour… We are simply asking for a review of the SC/ST quotas. We want quota benefits to reach the least privileged among us,” Suman said on Friday.

Manjhi has backed his son’s position, describing it as an issue of social justice and referring to the Supreme Court’s 2024 judgment that permitted sub-classification based on empirical data.

Paswan’s opposition to the proposal is consistent with the position taken by his late father, Ram Vilas Paswan, who had strongly opposed the creation of a separate “Mahadalit” category in Bihar more than a decade ago under then chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Responding to Chirag Paswan’s demand for their resignations, Manjhi said it was Paswan who should step down for failing to understand the broader argument being made in the interests of Dalits.

Manjhi argued that some Dalit communities remain more vulnerable than others and said targeted welfare measures could be implemented through a sub-category.