Bharat Bandh Today: BSP extends support to shutdown against Supreme Court verdict on SC/ST reservations

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati extended her support to the 'Bharat Bandh' on Wednesday called against the Supreme Court ruling that permits sub-classification within reservation categories for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The 'Reservation Bachao Sangharsh Samiti' are observing a day-long Bharat Bandh today to protest the Supreme Court's recent judgment on reservations.

The apex in a landmark ruling on August 1, ruled that states have the power to sub-classify SCs and STs and said that the authority concerned, while deciding if the class is adequately represented, must calculate adequacy based on effective and not quantitative representation.

BSP chief Mayawati said that there is anger and resentment against the SC's decision among the people of these groups.

"BSP supports Bharat Bandh because there is anger and resentment against the Supreme Court's decision regarding the sub-classification of SC/ST and creamy layer on 1 August 2024 due to the conspiracy against reservation by parties like BJP and Congress and their collusion to make it ineffective and finally end it," Mayawati said in a post on X.

"In this regard, the people of these classes have given a memorandum to the government today under 'Bharat Bandh' and have made a strong demand to abolish the changes made in reservation through constitutional amendment, etc., which an appeal has been made to be done in a disciplined and peaceful manner without any violence," she said.

Mayawati emphasised that the BJP, Congress and other parties should understand the necessity of the constitutional right of reservation given to the OBC community along with SC-ST.

"The constitutional right of reservation given to the OBC community along with SC-ST is the result of the continuous struggle of Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, the true messiah of these classes. The BJP, Congress and other parties should understand its necessity and sensitivity and should not play with it," she said.

In Bihar's Jahanabad supporters of the Bharat Bandh supporters blocked the National Highway 83 in Unta.

The Supreme Court ruled by a majority judgement of 6:1, that sub-classification within the SCs and STs reservation is permissible. As many as six separate opinions were delivered in the case.

The judgement was delivered by the seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, which overruled earlier judgement in the EV Chinnaiah matter, which had held that sub-classification was not permissible because SC/STs form homogenous classes.

Besides CJI Chandrachud, other judges on the bench were Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela M Trivedi, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma.

Justice BR Gavai suggested that the state evolve a policy for identifying the creamy layer, even from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to exclude them from the benefit of affirmative action.

Justice Bela M Trivedi, in a dissenting opinion, said that she disagreed with the majority judgement that sub-classification within the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes is permissible.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)