Ram Vilas Paswan-led LJP to launch agitation for quota in appointments of judges

PATNA: NDA’s two allies—LJP of Ram Vilas Paswan and Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP—on Saturday expressed serious concern over “very negligible representation” of the member of SC, ST and OBCs on the post of judges in the Supreme Court and high courts.
The LJP also announced to launch an agitation to demand reservation in the recruitment of judges in the apex court and higher judiciary.

Addressing an event organised to observe the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar here, the LJP chief and union minister Ram Vilas Paswan asked as to why no person was found guilty by the judiciary in Bihar’s infamous Laxmanpur-Bathe massacre in which altogether 61 members of Dalits community were killed in a cold-blooded manner. “We will soon launch an agitation to demand reservation in the recruitment of judges in the SC and high courts,” he said.

LJP chief also asked the Centre to take statutory steps to restore the provisions of ‘reservation in promotion’ for SC/ST. The provision of ‘reservation in promotion’ was annulled by an SC order a few years back.

Paswan also thanked Bihar CM Nitish Kumar (who was on the dais) for introducing reservation for SC, ST and backward classes in the appointment of judicial officers in the state’s lower judiciary.

Quoting a recent statement of President Ram Nath Kovind in which he said, “There is an unacceptably low representation of traditionally weaker sections such as OBCs, SCs and STs especially in the higher judiciary;” the RLSP chief and union minister Upendra Kushwaha said it is high time to understand the President’s pain.

Referring to a recent SC order leading to an alleged dilution in the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Kushwaha said the country’s higher judiciary time and again passed orders which turned out against the interest of the weaker section of society. “Such orders are coming from higher judiciary only because our peoples are not there,” he said.

Assuring people that no government had guts to end the constitutional provisions of reservation, Kushwaha said, “whosoever government will dare to an annual reservation, it will write its own death certificate.”

Kushawaha also said some forces, as part of a conspiracy, have launched a debate on the issue of ending quota system. “They are asking to end quota system, but we are demanding more quota (for OBC). ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’ (we want more percentage of reservation),” Kushawaha said amidst thunderous clapping from the audience.

Addressing the event organised by Dalit Sena, a wing of LJP, with an aim to bring all NDA constituents in Bihar on one platform, the union minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad, “Nobody in this country had enough strength to end the provisions of reservation.”

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi also addressed the event and repeatedly assured the audience mainly comprising the members of Dalit Sena and LJP that there was no plan to end the provisions of reservation.

Courtesy: TNN