BJP MPs Meet PM Modi to Discuss Supreme Court’s Decision on SC/ST Creamy Layer
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, who belong to Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities, met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Parliament House on Friday.
The MPs submitted a memorandum regarding the Supreme Court’s observation on the creamy layer for SC/ST and demanded that this decision should not be implemented. PM Modi assured them that he would look into the matter.
After the meeting, BJP MP Prof (Dr) Sikander Kumar stated, “A few days ago, the Supreme Court gave its decision on SC, ST reservation. A delegation comprising around 100 MPs from both Houses met PM Modi today and raised their concerns. The PM heard all MPs and assured us that the government will work in favor of the MPs.”
BJP MP Faggan Singh Kulaste added, “We told the PM that the SC decision on identifying the creamy layer from SCs/STs and their exclusion from reservation benefits should not be implemented. The PM also said that this should not be implemented.”
Union Minister Chirag Paswan earlier expressed his disagreement with the Supreme Court’s observation and said that the Lok Jandhakti Party (Ram Vilas) will be filing a review petition against the ruling.
The Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling on August 1, ruled that states have the power to sub-classify SCs and STs and said that the authority concerned, while deciding if the class is adequately represented, must calculate adequacy based on effective and not quantitative representation. The top court ruled by a majority judgement of 6:1 that sub-classification within the SCs and STs reservation is permissible.
The judgement was delivered by a seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, which overruled an earlier judgement in the EV Chinnaiah matter, which had held that sub-classification was not permissible because SC/STs form homogenous classes. Besides CJI Chandrachud, other judges on the bench were Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela M Trivedi, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma.
Justice BR Gavai suggested that the state evolve a policy for identifying the creamy layer, even from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, to exclude them from the benefit of affirmative action. Justice Bela M. Trivedi, in a dissenting opinion, said that she disagreed with the majority judgement that sub-classification within the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes is permissible.
Doubts Revealed
BJP -: BJP stands for Bharatiya Janata Party. It is one of the major political parties in India.
MPs -: MPs are Members of Parliament. They are elected representatives who make laws and policies for the country.
PM Modi -: PM Modi refers to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the head of the government in India.
Supreme Court -: The Supreme Court is the highest court in India. It makes important decisions on legal matters.
SC/ST -: SC stands for Scheduled Castes and ST stands for Scheduled Tribes. These are groups of people in India who have been historically disadvantaged and are given special benefits to help them.
Creamy Layer -: The creamy layer refers to the wealthier and more educated members of the SC/ST communities who are excluded from certain reservation benefits.
Reservation benefits -: Reservation benefits are special advantages like job quotas and educational seats given to certain groups to help them overcome historical disadvantages.
Union Minister -: A Union Minister is a member of the central government in India who is in charge of a specific department or ministry.
Chirag Paswan -: Chirag Paswan is an Indian politician and a Union Minister. He is known for representing the interests of SC/ST communities.
Review petition -: A review petition is a request made to the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision on a case.
Seven-judge bench -: A seven-judge bench means that seven judges together heard and made a decision on the case.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud -: Chief Justice DY Chandrachud is the head judge of the Supreme Court of India.
Parliament House -: Parliament House is the building in New Delhi where the Indian Parliament meets to discuss and make laws.
