Pm modi meets bjp sc st mps over supreme court's creamy layer decision

Pm modi meets bjp sc st mps over supreme court's creamy layer decision

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha who belong to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities. The MPs presented a memorandum expressing their concerns over the Supreme Court's recent observation on the implementation of the creamy layer concept within SC/ST reservations.

They urged that this decision should not be enforced. According to the MPs, PM Modi assured them that he would address the issue.

‘Met a delegation of SC/ST MPs today. Reiterated our commitment and resolve for the welfare and empowerment of the SC/ST communities,’ the PM Modi posted on X.

Earlier, after meeting with PM Modi, BJP MP Prof (Dr) Sikander Kumar said that PM Modi has assured them that the government will work in favor of the MPs.

After the meeting, BJP MP Prof (Dr) Sikander Kumar said that the Prime Minister had promised that the government would take the MPs' concerns into account. ‘A few days ago, the Supreme Court gave its decision on SC/ST reservations. A delegation of around 100 MPs from both Houses met PM Modi today and shared their concerns. The PM listened to all the MPs and assured us that the government will act in favor of the MPs,’ he said.

BJP MP Faggan Singh Kulaste added that the Prime Minister supported their stance. ‘We told the PM that the SC decision on identifying the creamy layer within SCs/STs and excluding them from reservation benefits should not be implemented. The PM also agreed that this should not be implemented,’ he said.

Union minister Chirag Paswan also voiced his opposition to the Supreme Court's observation and announced that the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) plans to file a review petition against the ruling.

The Supreme Court on August 1 ruled that states have the authority to sub-classify SCs and STs and that the adequacy of representation should be assessed based on effective rather than quantitative representation. The seven-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, delivered a 6:1 majority judgment allowing sub-classification within SC/ST reservations, overturning an earlier ruling in the EV Chinnaiah case, which had deemed such sub-classification impermissible.

Justice BR Gavai suggested that states develop a policy to identify and exclude the creamy layer from the SC/ST category to ensure that affirmative action benefits reach the most disadvantaged. However, Justice Bela M Trivedi, in her dissenting opinion, disagreed with the majority ruling, stating that sub-classification within SC/STs should not be allowed.