New Delhi: After the Supreme Court verdict upholding sub-classification among the Scheduled Castes, NDA and INDIA bloc parties have taken positions according to their vote banks. BJP and Congress have largely welcomed the verdict.
The judgement is likely to harm the interests of dominating caste groups among SCs, sources said.
Union minister Chirag Paswan, a BJP ally and an MP from Bihar, has already announced that he will file a review petition against the judgment. As per Bihar’s socio-economic survey, Paswans (5.31% of state’s population) are the second largest caste group after Yadavs. Chamars (known as Jatavs elsewhere) are the third largest caste group (5.25% of the population).
In 2008, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar coined the term ‘Mahadalit’, bringing smaller Dalit castes in this category. Paswans were excluded from this list and special welfare schemes were implemented for their development. JDU has been maintaining that what SC has said today was implemented by Kumar in 2008. Another Union minister and HAM leader Jitan Ram Manjhi is yet to make a statement. Manjhi belongs to the Mushahar community, which comes under ‘Mahadalit’ and accounts for 3% of the state’s population. SC verdict will benefit the Musahar community and this explains Manjhi’s silence.
RJD has opposed the judgment and has given reasons similar to Paswan. Paswan said that the basis of reservation for SCs was never population and income.
In UP, BJP allies, Nishad Party and SBSP, have welcomed the judgment. While Nishad Party has been demanding inclusion of Nishads into SCs, OP Rajbhar of SBSP is seeking special EBC quota within the OBC reservation in the state. Mayawati-led BSP and Chandra Shekhar Azad’s party have opposed the judgment, terming it a tool to end reservation for SCs.
In Maharashtra, Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi has opposed the verdict. The party is considered to have a support base among Mahars, the most dominant group among SCs in the state. Southern regional parties have wholeheartedly welcomed the verdict.
