Clash over quotas: Paswan, Manjhi trade barbs, demand each other's resignation

Delhi, 3rd May: Cabinet ministers Chirag Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi, members of the Narendra Modi administration, exchanged heated rhetoric regarding reservation policy on Saturday, demanding each other's resignation.The dispute originated when Jitan Ram Manjhi's son, Santosh Kumar Suman, president of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), requested a reassessment of the quota system, advocating for the subdivision of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) within the reservation framework.

Suman argued that the objective of reservation was not being fulfilled, citing the emergence of the Mahadalit category from Dalit caste groups and the creation of the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) category from Other Backward Classes (OBCs). He questioned why certain communities, such as the Musahar with a mere 4% population in Bihar, were not represented among the beneficiaries and demanded a comparative study to ascertain the extent of benefits and deprivation among various sections.Suman also criticized the lack of a "creamy layer" provision within SC reservation, asserting that asking for it was justified.

He called upon Chirag Paswan, Union minister of food processing industries, to resign if he supported such measures, as he would fall under the proposed category himself. Chirag responded by stating that the basis of reservation is rooted in social factors, particularly untouchability, and that discussing it economically contradicts the Constitution.

He maintained that the division of reservation based on social factors was necessary for the broader public interest and accused Manjhi of neglecting the interests of the poor, urging him to resign. The controversy arose from a 2024 Supreme Court ruling allowing states to subdivide SCs and STs to ensure reservation benefits reach the more disadvantaged groups, and the Centre's refusal to extend the creamy layer principle to SCs and STs, arguing that it currently only applies to OBCs.