Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Sunday criticised Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s remarks against the government’s attempt to restore provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The remarks showed an “anti-Dalit and anti-backward mentality”, tweeted the Lok Janshakti Party chief. “It is a very sorry state of affairs that a leader belonging to the birth place and land of action of Baba Saheb Ambedkar is not having the knowledge of the Constitution,” he said.

In a signed editorial in the Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece Saamana on Saturday, Thackeray criticised the Centre for approving a bill to restore the original provisions of the law. A Supreme Court order in March had diluted the provisions, leading to massive protests the following month.

Last week, The Cabinet decided to introduce a bill in Parliament following an ultimatum from Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party and several Dalit organisations, which threatened another protest on August 9.

The bill is very much in line with the Constitution, which seeks to give equal dignity to all people, Paswan said. On Wednesday, he described the bill as historic and said it was a “tight slap” to the Opposition, which was portraying the Centre as an “anti-Dalit government”.