Today(3rd August), Union Minister Chirag Paswan opposed the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing states to create sub-groups within Scheduled Castes for the 15% quota and announced his party, the Lok Janshakti Party, will appeal. Paswan also supported a caste census, as demanded by Rahul Gandhi, but stressed that the results should not be made public.
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PATNA: Union Minister Chirag Paswan has voiced strong opposition to the recent Supreme Court ruling that permits states to create sub-groups within the Scheduled Castes (SC) for allocating the 15 percent reservation quota. Today(on 3rd August), Paswan announced that his party, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), will appeal against this decision.
During a press conference, Paswan emphasized his support for a caste census, a demand also fervently made by the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. However, Paswan added a caveat, stating that the findings of such a census “must not be made public.”
Paswan declared-
“Our party will appeal to the Supreme Court to reconsider its recent ruling that permits sub-groups within the 15% SC quota.”
He expressed his concern that –
“The creamy layer should not be included in the SC quota. Allowing sub-groups within the SC quota will not effectively uplift the socially marginalized segments who have suffered from untouchability.”
The Hajipur MP highlighted that even well-to-do Scheduled Caste individuals who have access to education still face untouchability.
He noted with surprise that-
“The Supreme Court’s judgment does not even mention the term ‘untouchability.'”
Paswan elaborated-
“Most Scheduled Caste individuals, including those from affluent families with access to education, still face untouchability. Therefore, creating sub-groups within the SC quota is not justified.”
Paswan chose not to comment on the position of his alliance partner JD(U), which has supported the verdict. The JD(U) regards the judgement as a “vindication” of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s policies, who had earlier introduced the “Mahadalit” category in the state.
The demand for a caste census has recently become a contentious issue in Parliament. Paswan addressed this, stating-
“I believe we should conduct a caste census, but the results should remain confidential. The collected data should be used by the government to formulate policies.”
without providing further details.