Bigger stir than Bharat Bandh if special quota law not passed in Winter Session: SC, ST bodies to govt

The Bharat Bandh call was given by the National Confederation of Dalit and Adivasi Organisations (NACDAOR), an umbrella organisation of various SC and ST bodies from across the country, to protest against the Supreme Court’s recent judgment allowing states to sub-classify the SCs/STs to ensure “quota within quota” to more backward castes in these groups.

The Bandh, which was supported by several political parties including the BSP, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) or ASPKR among others, had a significant impact in states such as Jharkhand and Bihar, which will be heading to the Assembly polls this year-end and in 2025, respectively.

“We want the government to bring a law through Parliament in the Winter Session and nullify this Supreme Court order. If our demands are not met, we will have a bigger agitation. This (Bharat Bandh) was just to give a message to the government,” NACDAOR chairman Ashok Bharti told The Indian Express.

Bharti has been associated with the NACDAOR since its inception in 2001. He had also served as a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC)’s Working Group on Dalits during the previous Congress-led UPA government. The NAC was headed by the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

According to Bharti, the NACDAOR wants such a legal protection to reservations that courts are unable to alter them. “Currently, every time the courts sneeze, the reservations come under a cloud. We have already made a demand that reservations must be put in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution so that courts cannot tinker with it,” Bharti said.

With the apex court verdict drawing criticism from various quarters, Bharti has targeted the ruling BJP. “The BJP has shown its real teeth. It keeps talking about the marginalised sections of society, but what has it done for them? Has it identified the weakest of the lot and given them jobs? It is one thing to make speeches. But the society understands – it will no more be swayed by these words,” he said.

In a statement, the NACDAOR has even demanded the removal of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for presenting an “ill-conceived position” in the top court “without any consultation with stakeholders”.

On his opposition to the sub-classification of the SCs and STs for quota purposes, Bharti said, “Is there any backlog in filling reserved posts in the government? If that is there, then there is plenty of space for the government to do justice. Without doing its own job, the government wants to tinker with the existing reservation system.”

According to Bharti, reservation is based on criteria. “Has the government made efforts to bring all communities at par with the criteria? No. Has the government done anything to bring reservations in the private sector? There are hardly any government jobs,” he said.

Bharti was also critical of the government not making any data public on various SC/ST sub-castes in government employment.

“Government has caste and sub-caste wise data on people from the depressed classes employed with it. Why does it not make the data public? We know there aren’t many Dalits in top posts in the government. The government is quiet on this as it does not want people to come after it. It rather wants people to go after each other,” he said.

“Are the upper classes among Dalits a recruitment agency. You are recruiting them. It is up to you to maintain the balance,” Bharti said.

The Dalit agitation on the issue is likely to continue. ASPKR chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Aazad has already announced that his party would start a nationwide agitation over it beginning September 11.

Launched by the Centre for Alternative Dalit Media (CADAM), the NACDAOR has been working with the Dalit and tribal communities and voicing their concerns since 2001.