Mayawati opposes ‘creamy layer’ for SCs, STs, criticises RSS’ ‘casteist mindset’

Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati criticized the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over its recent remarks on caste-based reservation, accusing the organization of embodying a "casteist mindset." She argued that the debate over the "creamy layer" for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities was at odds with the constitutional aim of reservation.

Mayawati emphasized that reservation for SC, ST, and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities was about social transformation and economic emancipation, deeply tied to the dignity and self-respect of these groups. She stressed that the issues of caste-based hatred, exploitation, persecution, injustice, and atrocities still persisted for SC and ST communities, making the discussion of the creamy layer inappropriate and contrary to the spirit of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar's Constitution.

The RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, had previously stated that reservation had been "deliberately politicized" and was creating bitterness in society, with the organization suggesting that beneficiaries should voluntarily relinquish the benefits of reservation. Mayawati dismissed this as reflecting a casteist mindset, asserting that reservation was about granting constitutional and legal rights to equality and equity for millions of individuals who had suffered under the casteist system for generations.

She urged the central government to robustly defend SC and ST interests in court, noting that if the government effectively argued against the creamy-layer framework and convinced the court, it would be entirely justified and constitutional. Mayawati also criticized the government for insufficient legal advocacy in matters of social transformation and called on the RSS to stop politicizing the reservation issue and respect the Constitution's goal of establishing an egalitarian social order.