Thiruma appeals Kharge, Athawale to seek review of apex court order on SC/ST sub quota

CHENNAI: VCK chief and Chidambaram MP Thol Thirumaavalavan on Friday along with party MP D Ravikumar called on Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to file a review petition against the recent Supreme Court judgement on sub-categorisation among Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for granting quotas.

He has also petitioned Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale regarding the issue and urged the Union government to seek a review.

Pointing to the apex court's verdict holding that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and educationally more backward, Thiruma in his petition to Kharge wrote, "It is surprising and untrue for the Supreme Court to claim that some individuals are usurping the benefits of reservation."

The apex court bench had stated that benefits of reservation are being monopolised by a few within the SC category, preventing some sections from receiving the benefits.

Dalit people across the country fear that the SC verdict would ultimately end reservation for the Scheduled Castes, Thirumavalavan stated. "Despite 75 years of independence, SC people in India remain powerless, economically and politically. Their only strength is their numerical presence, supported by the SC list. It was created by the British to ensure political representation for SCs and it was extended to Independent India by B R Ambedkar through the Constitution. This Supreme Court judgement threatens to abolish that right," he added.

The VCK chief also recalled that a nine-member constitutional bench of the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney & Others v. Union of India (Mandal verdict) had clearly stated that the creamy layer criteria did not apply to SCs and STs.

In his petition to minister Athawale, Thirumavalavan urged the union government to take measures to remove the 'unfair comments' made in by the apex court regarding the creamy layer and the justification of the varna system.

Four out of the six judges who agreed that states are empowered to make sub-classifications wrote in their separate judgments that those in the creamy layer must be excluded from enjoying the benefits of reservation. States must evolve a policy for identifying the creamy layer even among the SCs and the STs and deny them the benefit of reservation, Supreme Court judge Justice B R Gavai had said.

Athawale, whose party is a constituent of the BJP-led NDA, had recently declared that, "The reservation for SCs/STs is based on caste. The Republican Party of India (Athawale) will strongly oppose any move to apply the criteria of creamy layer to reservation for SCs and STs."

(With online desk inputs)