On Wednesday, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) extended its support to a day-long Bharat Bandh organised by several Dalit and Adivasi groups against the Supreme Court's recent verdict on the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes (SCs).

BSP President Mayawati criticised the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, accusing them of conspiring to dismantle the reservation system. "BSP supports the Bharat Bandh because there is anger and resentment against the Supreme Court's August 1 decision regarding the sub-classification of SC/ST and the creamy layer among them due to the conspiracy against reservation by parties like BJP and Congress and their collusion to make it ineffective and eventually end it," she stated in a post in Hindi on X.

Mayawati further emphasised the significance of the reservation system, urging all political parties to recognise its importance. "BJP, Congress, and other parties should understand its necessity and sensitivity and not play with it," she said.

The BSP leader highlighted that the constitutional right of reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community, along with SCs and STs, is a hard-won result of the continuous struggle led by B.R. Ambedkar. She added that the people participating in the Bharat Bandh would be submitting a memorandum to the government, strongly demanding that the recent changes made to the reservation policy be reversed through a constitutional amendment.

The Bharat Bandh was called by 21 organizations nationwide in opposition to the Supreme Court's August 1 ruling. The court's verdict allows states to make sub-classifications within the SCs, acknowledging that they constitute a socially heterogeneous class. However, the court mandated that such sub-classifications must be based on "quantifiable and demonstrable data" of backwardness and representation in government jobs, rather than on political motivations.

Image source: PTI