Lucknow: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured BJP MPs from SC and ST communities that their fears regarding the implementation of the Creamy Layer concept among the SCs And STs and their subclassification for reservationNational President of the BSP Mayawaticalled it a “hawa-hawai” (hollow) assurance on Saturday.
“The PM has only given an assurance which will not work. He should have taken the right stand on the issue. The Parliament session should have continued and a Constitutional Amendment Bill should have been introduced. If the Prime Minister’s intentions regarding SCs and STs are clear, he can call the session anytime (if he wants) to pass the Constitutional Amendment Bill and make the Supreme Court order of August 1, 2024, ineffective. The Central government calls the session whenever it wants on matters related to its own interests,” the BSP leader said.
She demanded that in appointments to the high courts and the Supreme Court, posts should be reserved for SCs and STs so that they are “heard and understood”.
“So that there are no orders like those in Nagaraj case or Davinder Singh v. State of Punjab dated August 1, 2024, targeting the Colonels and Staffs and denying them their constitutional rights,” the Dalit leader said.
She also questioned the Congress over its silence on the Supreme Court order regarding implementation of upper class among SC and ST communities and their sub-classification for the quota passed on August 1, 2024. “Why is the Congress party silent on this? The SCs and STs need to think about it. The Congress should have made its stand clear in the states where it has its governments. Or are we to believe that the Congress agrees with it and will follow it? The AAP too needs to make its stand clear on the order. It has its governments in Punjab and Delhi. Will it implement the order in these states?” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister added. A few days ago, people of all political parties showed the (copy of the) Constitution, why are they not showing it now? They need to make their stand clear to the BJP, Mayawati said.
She also criticised the opposition’s INDIA bloc for trying to win seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on the campaign theme of “save the Constitution and save reservations”. “These parties in the 18th Lok Sabha have been campaigning on saving the Constitution and reservations to get SC and ST votes and they have hurt the BSP. But why are they not saving the Constitution and reservations now?”
Mayawati, on the other hand, welcomed the Prime Minister’s assurance to his party’s MPs on Friday and demanded that the bill to amend the constitution be introduced in the current session.
