Patna
Dalit and tribal organisations had called for a 'Bharat Bandh' on Wednesday against the Supreme Court's decision to sub-categorise reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The strike evoked a mixed response across the country. In Bihar, however, protesters blocked train services at Darbhanga and Buxar stations. The police also resorted to lathicharge in Patna, Hajipur, Darbhanga, Jehanabad and Begusarai districts to disperse the protesters. This resulted in commotion for some time.
On August 1, the Supreme Court had ruled that states have the right to categorise reservations for Scheduled Castes. A seven-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Chandrachud observed that the Scheduled Castes are not a homogeneous group and there are disparities among them.
At the same time, the Supreme Court said that in order to extend the benefit of reservation in Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to the eligible sections, there is a need to apply 'creamy layer' in this category as well. As many as 21 organisations, including Dalit and Adivasi, had given a call for 'Bharat Bandh'.
In Bihar, the police had to resort to lathicharge during the bandh. Security personnel use batons to disperse protesters who broke barricades at Dak Bungalow Chowk in Patna. No one was injured. Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Rajiv Mishra told PTI that the situation was under control. National Highway No. A scuffle broke out between the agitators and the security personnel at Unta Chowk, 83.
"The government's intention is to reduce reservation.
The Central Government intends to reduce the reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. The NDA government is against giving reservation to SC / ST and other extremely backward classes. Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, an independent MP from Bihar, accused the government of trying to snatch away the reservation. He led the Bharat Bandh movement in Patna and other areas. He also criticized the government's anti-reservation stance.
Life is better in other states.
The 'Bharat Bandh' called by Dalit and tribal organisations across the country on Wednesday evoked a lukewarm response. Tight police security was in place. In Uttar Pradesh, Dalit and Adivasi organisations took out marches. The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have supported the bandh. The states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, West Bengal and Punjab. Barring a few places, life was normal in most of the states.
The judges expressed their views. I personally met Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with 60 to 70 MPs on this issue. The Prime Minister said that the provision of creamy layer (sub-categorization) will not be applied to Scheduled Castes and Tribes. The Cabinet also decided not to implement the Supreme Court verdict. Faggan Singh Kulaste, BJP MP from Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
