LUCKNOW, Aug 23: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Sunday opposed calls to replace caste-based reservation with an economic criterion, arguing that such a change would weaken safeguards intended for historically disadvantaged communities.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was introduced to address centuries of social discrimination, exclusion and deprivation.
Mayawati cautioned political parties and governments against taking steps that could dilute the constitutional purpose of reservation. She said the policy should be viewed as part of efforts to establish an egalitarian society and ensure dignity and equal opportunities.
Her remarks came after Delhi Police detained several protesters who had gathered at Jantar Mantar on Friday for an anti-reservation demonstration. The protest had been organised through social media, with participants calling for economic status to receive greater weight than caste when determining eligibility for government assistance and reservation.
Mayawati attacks Congress over protest
Mayawati questioned the response of Congress leaders to the demonstration, saying neither Rahul Gandhi nor other senior party figures had gone to the protesters to explain their position.
She alleged that the Congress had maintained an “anti-reservation mindset” towards SC, ST and OBC communities.
The BSP leader also referred to the views of B R Ambedkar on caste discrimination and stressed the need to eliminate caste-based inequality from society.
Poverty cannot replace social discrimination criterion
Mayawati said economic assistance programmes for poor households already existed, with governments spending significant public funds on poverty alleviation and welfare schemes.
According to her, failures in delivering these benefits should be addressed through better governance rather than by replacing caste-based safeguards with an economic formula.
She argued that economic criteria-based reservation was already available in India but had not adequately addressed the needs of economically weaker sections. She also claimed that poor families from traditionally advantaged communities were not receiving the full benefits intended for them.
The BSP chief further alleged that corruption and caste-based discrimination within the government system had prevented constitutional reservation provisions from being implemented effectively.
Call for stronger implementation of safeguards
Mayawati maintained that SC, ST and OBC communities continued to experience poverty, social discrimination, exploitation, atrocities and prejudice decades after Independence.
She urged governments not to provide political or administrative protection to groups seeking to remove existing reservation safeguards.
The BSP chief also appealed to political parties and the public to avoid what she called “cheap politics” over the sensitive issue, stressing that policies concerning reservation should remain focused on social justice and constitutional protections.