Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav has voiced his support for the Bharat Bandh calling against the recent Supreme Court verdict on SC/ST reservations. The bandh, organised by the Reservation Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, is a response to the Court’s ruling, which permits the sub-classification within the reservation categories for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Akhilesh Yadav emphasised that the movement to protect reservations is a positive effort that will bring new awareness among the marginalised and deprived communities.
He believes that peaceful protests are a democratic right, and such movements can serve as a powerful means to counter any attempt to undermine the Constitution and the rights of the people.
In a post on X, Yadav stated, "The mass movement to protect reservations is a positive effort. It will instil new consciousness among the exploited and deprived and will prove to be a shield of people’s power against any kind of tampering with reservation. Peaceful movement is a democratic right.”
Yadav also expressed concern that if the government continues to tamper with the Constitution and the rights it guarantees through fraudulent means, the public will be compelled to take to the streets.
He recalled Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar's warning that the effectiveness of the Constitution depends on the intentions of those who implement it. He remarked, “When the governments in power will tamper with the Constitution and the rights given by it through fraud, scams and scandals, then the public will have to take to the streets. Public movements put a check on unbridled government.”
The Bharat Bandh has also garnered support from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, who criticised the Supreme Court’s decision and accused political parties like the BJP and Congress of conspiring to weaken and eventually eliminate reservations.
Mayawati expressed that there is significant anger and resentment among the SC/ST communities due to this ruling. In a post on X, she said, “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.”
The Supreme Court, in its landmark ruling on August 1, allowed states the authority to sub-classify SCs and STs for the purpose of reservations. The Court ruled by a 6:1 majority that such sub-classification is permissible, with six separate opinions delivered in the case.
The judgement was issued by a seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, overturning an earlier judgement in the EV Chinnaiah case, which had held that sub-classification was not permissible because SC/STs were considered homogenous groups.
Justice BR Gavai, one of the judges on the bench, suggested that the state should develop a policy to identify the creamy layer within SC/ST communities and exclude them from the benefits of affirmative action.
However, Justice Bela M Trivedi, in her dissenting opinion, disagreed with the majority judgement, asserting that sub-classification within SC/ST reservations is not permissible.
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