National chairperson of All India Confederation of SC/ST Organizations and BJP MP from Delhi Udit Raj has demanded for reservation for Dalits in sports, particularly in cricket.
Citing the example of South Africa, Raj said, “There has to be at least six black players in the South African team and the same model could be adopted in India too.’’
He also cited the example of Jammu and Kashmir cricket team, where out of 16, seven players are from Jammu and nine from Kashmir, or vice-versa.
“All players in the Indian cricket team can even be selected from one city or state,” Udit Raj said while adding that the Indian team can be strengthened if participation of Dalits is ensured through reservation.
Addressing a meeting in lucknow on Saturday, Udit Raj said that the Confederation had managed to ensure reservation for the SC in promotion in 2006 when the Supreme Court was hearing the Nagaraj case, but the lucknow High Court disallowed such reservation in promotion on January 4,2011.
He said that the decision of lucknow bench of the high court was challenged in Supreme Court which upheld the HC order as the then Mayawati government in UP failed to pursue the case effectively.
The MP alleged that SC/ST employees were facing severe exploitation under the present SP regime in UP. “In this SP government, even SC officers selected on general merit have been demoted. Many officers felt it better to stay at home instead of attending office, as they would be forced to work under their juniors,” he claimed.
Raj said that Dalits in UP were not only politically divided, but also socially and were not ready to support even a leader who is fighting for them which is one of the biggest reasons why Dalits are weaker in UP than in other states.
Raj also spoke about the massive rally organized by the Confederation on 28th November 2016 at Ramleela Maidan, New Delhi. He said that despite demonetisation, the rally was a huge success. “The contribution from UP in this rally was almost negligible, whereas being the largest state; it should have had the largest share,” he said.