Dalit groups are said to have announced an agitation against the Supreme Court’s (SC) February 7, 2020 order which stated that reservations for promotions in government jobs is not a fundamental right and that courts cannot give directions compelling States to reserve jobs or positions for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC / STs), reported The Daily Pioneer.
सभी साथी 23 फरवरी को भारत बंद की तैयारी करें। हम 16 फरवरी को मंडी हाउस से पार्लियामेंट तक मार्च निकालकर सरकार को बता देंगे कि आरक्षण से किसी भी प्रकार की छेड़छाड़ बर्दाश्त नही की जाएगी। मैं सभी राजनीतिक पार्टियों से अपील करता हूँ कि 23 फरवरी के भारत बंद में सहयोग करें। जय भीम
— Chandra Shekhar Aazad (@BhimArmyChief) February 12, 2020
The Supreme Court’s order in the matter had stated that the states that wished to provide quotas would have to submit data on the under-representation of SC / STs in public jobs and that the ‘creamy layer’ (the more economically well-to-do part of the backward classes) wouldn’t be benefitted at the expense of the most undeserving.
Post this, a storm was raised in the Parliament by the Opposition parties demanding that a review petition be filed against the decision or that the Constitution be amended to make reservation a fundamental right.
The Congress, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Janata Dal United (JDU) contended that the SC order was anti-Dalit. The issue turned into a political slugfest with the Opposition and the NDA blaming each other.
The Tribune reported that outside the Parliament Rahul Gandhi targeted the State’s counsels who argued that reservation wasn’t a fundamental right and said, “The RSS and the BJP cannot stand the idea that Dalits, tribals and OBCs have reservation. They have attempted to remove reservation. They demolished the Ravidas temple here. You saw what they did to the SC-ST sub-plan. Now they are arguing that reservation is not a fundamental right. It is in their DNA to try and erase reservations but no matter what their fantasies, we won’t let it happen.”
As the Opposition staged a walkout, Thawar Chand Gehlot, a member of the BJP and Social Justice Minister said, “This is a very important issue. We are conducting a high-level review. The Government of India was neither made a party to this case nor was its affidavit sought. The SC order emanates from a September 5, 2012, decision of the then Congress-led government of Uttarakhand to not grant reservation in promotions to SCs and STs.”
In July 2012, the Uttarakhand High Court, while hearing the case of Vinod Prakash Nautiyal vs the State of Uttarakhand, barred reservations in promotions and in September 2012, the Uttarakhand state government issued an order barring departments from giving reservations in promotions to SC / ST employees.
In April 2019, the Uttarakhand HC quashed the state government’s order and in September 2019, the state government put all promotions on hold in the state government departments. Two months later, the Uttarakhand HC put aside the order quashing the state government’s directions. It then directed the Uttarakhand government to collect data on “adequacy/inadequacy in the representation of SCs and STs before providing reservation for the posts that are filled through promotions in government jobs”. In the same month, the state government and a body of general and Other Backward Classes (OBC) employees filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court.
Speaking to PTI, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan asked to “rectify” the Supreme Court verdict, an ordinance should be brought and the Constitution should be amended and all such issues should be included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to insulate them from judicial review so that they aren’t delayed due to legal wrangles.
He said, “The Supreme Court saying that it is up to the state government for giving reservation in jobs and it is not a fundamental right…This is all part of the Constitution, and the people have this objection that the verdict is against the interests of the SCs and STs.”
He also said that around 70 Dalit and tribal MPs, including Union Ministers had gathered for a meeting earlier in the week and decided to put forth two main demands to the government – an ordinance be passed and then Constitutional amendment made to nullify the Supreme Court verdict on reservation in jobs and also have an Indian Judicial Service to ensure representation of SCs, STs and OBCs in the higher judiciary.
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