SC/ST creamy layer: Mayawati attacks Centre, Oppn for unclear stand on apex court verdict
BSP chief said this difficult situation would not have risen today had the Union government put its arguments strongly on the issue through the Attorney General
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday attacked the Centre and the opposition parties like the Congress and the Samajwadi Party for not taking a clear stand on the Supreme Court’s verdict directing the states to evolve a policy for identifying the creamy layer among the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, the BSP chief said she and the SC/ST communities are not happy with the hollow assurance of PM Narendra Modi given to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) SC/ST MPs on Friday that that there will be no creamy layer and sub-classification.
She said the BSP will surely welcome it if the assurance given is fulfilled. Had the PM and the Centre been willing to fulfil the assurance, they would have brought a Constitution Amendment Bill in the current Parliament session itself to nullify the SC’s verdict instead of suspending the session before time.
Expressing her concern over the government’s move, the BSP chief said this difficult situation would not have risen today had the Union government put its arguments strongly on the issue through the Attorney General.
She emphasised that the lack of action in this matter clearly shows that either the PM has not given any such assurance to his MPs or the assurance has been given only to confuse and mislead these sections of people.
Mayawati further said the opposition parties like the Congress and the SP had promised the SC/ST communities during the 2024 LS polls to save the Constitution but they have also not made their stand clear on the entire issue.
She said this is a big betrayal with the SC/ST as they voted for INDIA block parties like the Congress and the SP in the state on the promise of saving their interests at the national level.
Moreover, the BSP chief’s statement seems to be relevant in context of recently concluded 2024 Lok Sabha elections in which her party recorded its worst electoral performance since its inception in 1984 as its cadre Jatav votes shifted to other opposition parties.
Not only this, the BSP failed to win any seat in the state in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and its vote share, which mainly banks on SC/ST votes, fell to 9.15% from over 19% in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.