Raipur, Aug 21 (PTI) The day-long ‘Bharat Bandh’, called by certain Dalit and Adivasi groups against the Supreme Court’s verdict on sub-classification of Scheduled Castes, evoked a mixed response in Chhattisgarh, barring tribal-dominated regions.
Several shops and commercial establishments remained closed in parts of Bastar and Surguja divisions, largely inhabited by tribals, and Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki and Dhamtari districts. The shutdown evoked a mixed response in Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg, Rajnandgaon and Korba districts.
Bastar Division comprises seven districts and Surguja Division six districts.
Transport services largely remained unaffected. Schools, hospitals and other essential services were kept out of the bandh ambit.
In Dantewada district headquarters, a huge motorcycle rally was organised by members of Sarva Adivasi Samaj (SAS), an umbrella body of tribal organisations.
SAS leader Ballu Bhavani claimed the bandh received a good response in Dantewada with people from various sections of society, including traders, extending their support.
Bhavani said a memorandum addressed to the President, Prime Minister, and Chief Justice of India was submitted at the district collectorate against the “unconstitutional” verdict of the apex court on sub-classification of Scheduled Castes.
The opposition Congress extended its “moral” support to the shutdown and called for addressing concerns of members of ST and SC communities.
“People belonging to ST and SC communities and their organisations have called for Bharat bandh for their legitimate demands, which should be considered sympathetically as it is their Constitutional right. Congress morally supports their agitation,” said the state’s Congress communication wing head Sushil Anand Shukla.
The top court on August 1 held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the SCs (Scheduled Castes), which it said form a socially heterogeneous class, for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and educationally more backward among them.
The Supreme Court, however, made it clear that states have to make the sub-classification based on “quantifiable and demonstrable data” of backwardness and representation in government jobs and not on “whims” and as a matter of “political expediency”. PTI COR TKP NSK
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