A day after Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge called the Supreme Court’s ruling on SC/ST subclassification a “big setback” for the SCs and STs, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav Sunday said there was no need to change provisions of reservation. On the importance of reservation, Yadav said the Constitution is ‘sanjeevni’ (lifesaver) and reservation is ‘Prana-vayu’ (oxygen) for “PDA” (Pichda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak). “Reservation is the constitutional way to empower and strengthen the exploited and deprived society, this is what will bring change,” he said, adding that the “khai (gap)” of discrimination for several generations cannot be bridged by changes that have emerged in a few generations. Hitting out at the BJP, Yadav said, “BJP’s internal thinking has always been anti-reservation. That’s why the trust of most of the PDA community on BJP is continuously eroding. The credibility of the BJP on the issue of reservation has become zero,” Yadav said. On August 1, a seven-judge Constitution Bench of the SC in a 6-1 majority verdict ruled that SCs do not constitute a socially homogeneous class and can be sub-classified by states for the purpose of providing reservation to the less privileged among them. Four judges favoured excluding the creamy layer from the SC/ST quota. Meanwhile, BSP chief Mayawati during a meeting with party leaders in Lucknow warned them of a “deep conspiracy against reservation”. “Ambedkarite BSP is the real well-wisher of Dalits and Bahujans . Attempts are being made to make the reservation, which came into effect because of the efforts and struggle of Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, ineffective,” Mayawati said, according to a party statement. She also targeted the Congress, accusing it of being “in favour of sub-classification” of SCs and STs.
