Bharat Bandh Latest Update: The National Confederation of Dalit and Adivasi Organisations (NACDAOR) has called for a day-long Bharat Bandh as a mark of protest against the recent Supreme Court ruling with relation to the sub-classification of the backward castes within the reservation system. The NACDAOR in a statement has urged the people from the scheduled castes (SCs), scheduled tribes (STs), and the other backward castes (OBCs) to extend their support for the strike and participate in the agitation to strengthen their demands.
The ‘Bharat Bandh’ call by the NACDAOR comes following the August 1 judgment of the Supreme Court where a seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud ruled that the states are allowed to make further sub-classifications within the SCs and STs to ensure that the benefits of reservation reach the last mile. The court said that in the sub-categorisation, there could be a provision for the creamy layer criteria within the SCs and STs to allocate quotas in government jobs and educational institutions.
In the wake of these developments, the NACDAOR has listed key demands ahead of the Bharat Bandh protest.
What are their key demands?
- The NACDAOR urged the Centre to reject the Supreme Court’s August 1 ruling, saying that it threatens the constitutional rights of SCs and STs.
- The protesters have also called for the enactment of a new Act of Parliament to address reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs. They said this Act should be included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to shield these provisions from judicial interference.
- They also demanded the immediate release of caste-based data on SC/ST/OBC employees in government services as it is necessary to ensure their accurate representation.
- They also demanded the recruitment of judicial officers and judges from all sections of society, to achieve 50 per cent representation of marginalised communities in the higher judiciary.
- They want all backlog vacancies in central and state government departments to be filled up, as well as public sector undertakings.
- The NACDAOR has also demanded justice and equality for SCs, STs, and OBCs and demanded that the private sector companies benefiting from government incentives or investments must enact affirmative action policies in their firms.
