Peeved at demotion from their present posts following SC directive, Dalit state employees have asked all political parties to spell out their stand on the reservation in promotion for the SC/ST.
Spearheading the agitation, the Arakshan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti maintained only BSP chief Mayawati had spoken in favour of their demand and lent her support albeit after they started a `chuppee todo’ (break the silence) campaign.
Mayawati, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said: “Both the Congress and the BJP are against the idea of reservation. Both parties are anti-Dalit and are the two sides of the same coin. They do not want reservations for Dalits to continue.” The BSP chief alleged that the two parties appeared to be poles apart but had identical vision on reservation.
A Samiti spokesman said that though the BJP had distanced itself from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s opinion against reservation, the party should also clearly state its stand on whether it supported the passage of the Constitution (117th amendment) bill pending in lok Sabha. The bill was earlier passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2013.
“After support to the Constitution (117th amendment) Bill envisaging reservation in promotions for SC/STs by the BSP, other parties should also spell out their stand,” felt the spokesman .