Favouring extension of reservation benefits to the poor among the upper castes, Union minister Ramdas Athavale on Thursday urged the Narendra Modi government at the Centre to consider bringing in a law that could facilitate the same without violating the Supreme Court's cap on quotas.
Athavale, who is Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment and a RPI leader, made a statement to this effect at a function held here to mark the birth anniversary of Bihar's first Chief Minister Shri Krishna Singh which was attended by top leaders of the BJP.
Turning towards Union minister for Law and Justice Ravishankar Prasad, Athavale said "I would request you to bring a law.....the Supreme Court has laid down that quotas must not exceed 50 per cent. But we can set apart a portion of the 50 per cent that remains unreserved for those who belong to the upper castes but are poor".
"Please pay heed to this demand, which I have raised on the floor of the Parliament and at an NDA meeting where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present", Athavale said adding that as a follower of B R Ambedkar, "I am opposed to casteism and not to the upper castes".
"Ambedkar wanted justice for all. He attacked Brahminism and not Brahmins. He always welcomed those from the upper castes who showed willingness to support his drive for social justice", Athavale said.
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"Demands for reservation are being raised by upper castes everywhere. Apart from Bihar, we have witnessed agitations by Marathas in Maharashtra, Patels in Gujarat and Jats in Rajasthan. We must take note", he added.
Prasad sidestepped the issue in his speech afterwards, but came down heavily on the Congress, accusing it of having "betrayed the vision that Shri Krishna Singh had for Bihar in the years that followed his demise".
He also described a similar function held last week by the Congress, the party to which the first Chief Minister belonged as "petty politics".
Notably, Singh - fondly remembered as "Shri babu" - belonged to the Bhumihar caste which is said to be the most sizeable and vocal among the upper castes. Traditionally pro-Congress, the Bhumihars have gravitated towards the BJP in the past couple of decades.
The function held by the BJP, in the memory of a former Congress leader, is being seen as an attempt to pacify the upper castes in the Hindi heartland who have been aggrieved over the recent amendments in the SC/ST Act which are said to have given more teeth to the stringent law.
Speaking at the same function, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said "the Congress of today is not the party of Shri babu but a handmaiden of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad. It therefore shares the blame for the lawlessness that prevailed in Bihar during Lalu's rule".
Notably, the function was to be attended - among others - by Union minister and former BJP national president Nitin Gadkari. He, hwoever, could not turn up on account of a bereavement in his family which had him rushed to Mumbai.
The organizers, however, ran a video recording of Gadkari's message for the occasion. State BJP president Nityanand Rai and Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav were among those present at the function.
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