PM Modi reiterated his commitment for welfare of SC/ST communities: Kiren Rijiju

New Delhi [India], August 11 (ANI): Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated his commitment and resolve for the welfare and empowerment of the SC/ST communities.

SC/ST MPs of the BJP met PM Modi on the reservation issue on Friday.

After meeting the ST/SC MPs of BJP, PM Modi chaired the cabinet meeting and categorically asserted that the principle of the creamy layer does not apply to reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).

Taking to X Kiren Rijiju said, “BJP’s SC/ST MPs met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on reservation issue. PM reiterated his commitment and resolve for the welfare and empowerment of the SC/ST communities.”

Bharatiya Janata Party MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha belonging to ST/SC communities met with PM Narendra Modi at the Parliament House. The MPs jointly submitted a memorandum regarding the Supreme Court’s observation on the creamy layer for ST/SC and demanded that this decision should not be implemented.

PM Modi assured them that he would look into this matter, said BJP MP.

After meeting with PM Modi on August 9 in the Parliament BJP MP Prof (Dr) Sikander Kumar told ANI that a few days ago, Supreme Court gave its decision on SC, ST reservation. A delegation comprising around 100 MPs from both Houses met PM Modi and raised their concerns. “The PM heard all MPs and assured us that the govt will work in favour of the MPs,” he said.

BJP MP Faggan Singh Kulaste said that the Prime Minister has told that this should not be implemented. “We told the PM that the SC decision on (identifying) 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,” he said.

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.

BJP’s SC/ST MPs ministers, including Kiren Rijiju, Arjun Meghwal, L. Murugan, V. Satish, and Kamlesh Paswan (Rural Development), Savitri Thakur (MoS, Women and Child Development), and Durgadas Uikey (MoS, Tribal Affairs), Shantanu Thakur were present in the meeting.

As many as six separate opinions were delivered in the case. The judgement was delivered by the seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, which overruled 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.