The Aarakshan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (ABSS), an umbrella organisation of Scheduled Caste state officers and employees, will campaign against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Bihar Assembly elections.
The ABSS leaders said if the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government did not spell out its stance on the issue of reservation in promotion for the SC employees, their organisation would campaign against the party in Bihar.
The Aarakshan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti is spearheading the campaign for restoration of reservations in promotion for SC employees, ever since it was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2012.
ABSS convenor Avadhesh Kumar Verma said here on Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have to make public his stance on enacting law for restoration of quota in promotion for the SC employees.
He said if the BJP failed to take a stand on this issue, the ABSS would vigorously campaign against it.
Verma said that during the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance-II government at the Centre, the Rajya Sabha had passed the Constitution (117th) Amendment Bill restoring reservation in promotion for the SC employees.
He said the Modi government should get the Bill passed in the lok Sabha as it had a clear majority in the lower House.
The campaign for restoration of reservation in promotion has intensified after the apex court, in its recent order, set the deadline of September 15 for reverting all SC employees promoted under the promotion in reservation for Dalit officers and employees rules.
Verma said the ABSS was trying to forge an alliance with the SC employees’ organisations of eastern state to float a joint front for intensifying the campaign for restoration of quota in promotion in other states.
He said the Dalit community in UP and Bihar was perturbed by the silence of the NDA government on the issue of quota in promotion.
“The Dalits in Bihar know the value of their votes and they will use it in an intelligent manner,” he added.
Verma said that in its over two-week-long campaign, the ABSS had gheraoed 57 SC MlAs of the Samajwadi Party and 16 lok Sabha MPs of the BJP in their respective constituencies to mount pressure on them to convince their parties to protect the interests of the Dalit officers and employees.
The ABSS had launched its ‘Chupee todo’ (break your silence) campaign against these law-makers on August 30.