Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge speaks in the House on July 25, 2024. Photo: Sansad TV via PTI
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and chairperson of the parliamentary party Sonia Gandhi were among the party’s leaders who met on Tuesday to discuss the Supreme Court’s judgment on sub-categorisation of the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).
The party’s top lawyers, including Abhishek Singhvi and Vivek Tankha, were also part of the meeting.
Before formulating the party stance on the judgment, Mr. Kharge will consult Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled States and State unit chiefs, the party’s communication chief Jairam Ramesh said.
The issue of sub-classifying SCs could end up creating divisions with the party. Senior leaders like Kumari Selja and P.L. Punia are said to be against the judgment and in favour of a curative petition, while the Congress governments in Telangana and Karnataka have welcomed the judgment.
Mr. Ramesh told reporters that the judgment has reinforced the need to do a nationwide caste census and the need to remove the cap of 50% ceiling on reservation through a constitutional amendment.
“There were discussions on the Supreme Court order on SC/ST sub-categorisation or what is referred to as quota within quota. The discussions went on for an hour and a half and our party president will now meet our Chief Ministers, State unit chiefs and will take a position on the judgment,” he said.
“Two things are clear: the nationwide caste census that Rahul Gandhi ji has been insisting on for the past six or seven months has now become essential, and secondly, the need to remove the 50% ceiling on reservation,” Mr. Ramesh added.
On August 1, a seven-judge Constitutional Bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, in a majority judgement, held that States have the right to sub-classify Scheduled Castes notified in the Presidential List, with the objective of providing less advanced communities within the grouping with preferential treatment in public employment and education.
The Congress has been guarded in its response, with a section of the party arguing that the judgment amounted to creating the “creamy layer” concept, first used in the Indra Sawhney judgment for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), that should not be applied to SC/STs.
