New Delhi: The Congress is firmly opposed to the Supreme Court’s call for the exclusion of creamy layer from the purview of reservation meant for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), party president Mallikarjun Kharge said Saturday, an announcement that came within a day of the Union Cabinet taking a stand against the apex court’s judgment.
Over the last few days, the Congress held many rounds of consultations among its leaders for crafting a response to the Supreme Court ruling, but kept putting off taking a clear position on the issue. However, with the BJP saying that it was against applying the principle of creamy layer for SC/STs, the principal opposition party realised it could not afford further dilly-dallying.
Kharge, in a video statement released by the party, said he was surprised by the verdict, while also pointing out that the NDA government ought to have brought a legislation in Parliament to overturn the portion of the Supreme Court judgment that refers to the need to exclude the creamy layer from the ambit of SC/ST reservation.
“Talking about depriving SCs/STs from the benefit of reservation in the name of creamy layer is a big blow against the SC/STs. The BJP wants to gradually end reservation. On the one hand, government jobs are reducing and many sectors are being handed over to the private sector, on the other hand even vacancies are not being filled. Who do you want to benefit by introducing creamy layer when the entire SC community as a whole often fails to fill up posts meant for them? It will crush the Dalit society and benefit those who have enjoyed all privileges over centuries,” he said.
पिछले दिनों Supreme Court का 7-Judge Bench का फ़ैसला आया, जिसमें उन्होंने SC-ST वर्ग के लोगों के लिए Sub-Categorisation का बात की।
इस फ़ैसले में SC-ST वर्ग के आरक्षण में Creamy Layer की भी बात की गई।
भारत में Scheduled Caste के लोगों को सबसे पहले आरक्षण बाबासाहेब डॉ अंबेडकर के… pic.twitter.com/36fNB7nqpn
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) August 10, 2024
Kharge added, “The seven-judges who raised the matter did not consider the issue seriously, I can say this openly. As long as there is untouchability in this country, reservations should remain and we will fight for that. I was surprised by the court’s verdict. People continue to face untouchability in this country despite having wealth as even the moneyed face discrimination. I want to appeal to everyone to oppose this ruling on creamy layer and put a lid on this debate forever.”
To buttress his point, Kharge also underlined the thin presence of SCs in high courts and the apex court, and the higher echelons of the bureaucracy, “despite the existence of reservation”.
The Congress’s stand on the issue is significant in light of Rahul Gandhi’s persistent demand for a nation-wide caste census. That the Union Cabinet’s position against the principle of creamy layer in SC/ST reservation forced the Congress to hasten its call on the matter is evident as last Tuesday it had announced that it will carry out many more rounds of consultations before declaring its stand.
Kharge made it clear that the Congress was not rejecting the call for sub-classification of SCs and STs, which was also spelt out by the Supreme Court. The party’s chief ministers in Karnataka and Telangana had welcomed this particular aspect of the top court’s judgment given the demands from Malas and Madigas, which are prominent SC groups in Karnataka and Telangana respectively, for such a classification.
Kharge made that distinction clear by saying that the Congress was still studying the implications of the need for sub-classification. “There are separate lists of SCs in every state. We will take further steps by assessing who is benefitting how much and who is at a position of disadvantage. Rahul Gandhi is also thinking on this matter and has met lawyers, intellectuals in this regard,” the Congress chief said.
On 1 August, a seven-judge Constitution bench of the SC in a landmark 6:1 majority verdict ruled that the states can sub-classify the SCs and STs for providing the benefits of reservation to groups within them who are in real need of such affirmative action. Four judges of the bench also favoured applying the principle of creamy layer in the SC/ST quota policy.
Kharge said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the reservation policy will be left untouched, the government should have brought a legislation in Parliament to nullify the creamy layer aspect of the Supreme Court verdict. “It’s been so many days, they could have done it. After all, they (government) usually prepare Bills in a few hours,” he said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: No SC/ST groups will be excluded — how Supreme Court order treads sub-classification minefield
Not a surprise. Congress has figured out that the road to power lies through minority/Dalit/OBC appeasement and freebies. Mr. Rahul Gandhi can be expected to ratchet up the volume on these issues.