Tweet
Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati on Monday briefed the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on the long-standing demand by Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims that they be given reservation, the way Dalit Buddhists are, as per the 1950 Presidential Order.
The briefing was given in the context of a Public Interest Litigation petition pending in the Supreme Court: at the last hearing, it asked the government whether the fact that Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims are deprived of the benefits of reservation did not amount to hostile discrimination under Article 14. The government will have to either justify upholding the 1950 Presidential Order or accept the Ranganath Misra Commission recommendation of reservation for Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims.
Government sources said the special briefing was given as “many complicated legal issues are involved” but currently “no decision was called for.” However, the government will have to deal with the matter sooner rather than later, the sources said, as a decision will impact on the promised caste census: at present, there are no authentic figures for the various castes.
Taking a decision on a quota for Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims is complicated by the fact that the National Commission for Scheduled Castes has said if reservation is given to these two groups, it should not be from the 15 per cent meant for Dalits — it should be a separate quota. The existing position on reservation at the national level is: 27 per cent for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), 15 per cent for the SC (or Dalits) and 7.5 per cent for the Scheduled Tribes. The three categories together account for 49.5 per cent, and till now, the Supreme Court has ruled that reservation should not exceed 50 per cent. Clearly, therefore, a decision one way or the other will open a can of worms.
The members of the CCPA, which is headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, include Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Defence Minister A.K. Antony. A special invitee at the meeting was Minorities Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed.
The briefing was given in the context of a Public Interest Litigation petition pending in the Supreme Court: at the last hearing, it asked the government whether the fact that Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims are deprived of the benefits of reservation did not amount to hostile discrimination under Article 14. The government will have to either justify upholding the 1950 Presidential Order or accept the Ranganath Misra Commission recommendation of reservation for Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims.
Government sources said the special briefing was given as “many complicated legal issues are involved” but currently “no decision was called for.” However, the government will have to deal with the matter sooner rather than later, the sources said, as a decision will impact on the promised caste census: at present, there are no authentic figures for the various castes.
Taking a decision on a quota for Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims is complicated by the fact that the National Commission for Scheduled Castes has said if reservation is given to these two groups, it should not be from the 15 per cent meant for Dalits — it should be a separate quota. The existing position on reservation at the national level is: 27 per cent for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), 15 per cent for the SC (or Dalits) and 7.5 per cent for the Scheduled Tribes. The three categories together account for 49.5 per cent, and till now, the Supreme Court has ruled that reservation should not exceed 50 per cent. Clearly, therefore, a decision one way or the other will open a can of worms.
The members of the CCPA, which is headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, include Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Defence Minister A.K. Antony. A special invitee at the meeting was Minorities Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed.