NEW DELHI: A fresh dispute has erupted within the BJP-led NDA over the issue of reservation, with Union ministers Chirag Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi publicly demanding each other’s resignation.
The controversy intensified on Saturday after Manjhi’s son and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Santosh Kumar Suman called for a review of the reservation system and supported sub-categorisation within Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) quotas.
Suman argued that the benefits of reservation have not reached all communities equally. He questioned whether the most disadvantaged groups within the SC category should receive greater representation and called for a comparative assessment of which communities have benefited from the existing system.
Paswan strongly opposed the proposal, particularly the idea of introducing a “creamy layer” within SC and ST reservations. The Union minister argued that reservation was created primarily to address social discrimination and historical exclusion, rather than economic disadvantage.
Paswan said that if Manjhi supported introducing a creamy-layer provision and sub-quotas within SC reservations, he should first resign. He also called for Suman to step down.
Manjhi hit back later in the day, accusing Paswan of failing to consider the interests of poorer sections. He defended the demand for greater internal division of the quota benefits, saying such a move was necessary in the broader public interest.
Manjhi said that if Paswan was unwilling to protect the interests of poorer communities, he too should resign.
Supreme Court ruling at the centre of debate
The dispute comes against the backdrop of a 2024 Supreme Court judgment that permitted states to sub-classify SC and ST communities so that reservation benefits could reach relatively more disadvantaged groups within these categories. The court also discussed the need for criteria to identify a possible creamy layer among SCs and STs.
However, the Centre has maintained that the creamy-layer principle should not automatically be extended to SC and ST reservations. In an affidavit to the Supreme Court, the government said the principle currently applies to Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
The latest confrontation highlights differing positions among NDA allies on one of the country's most politically sensitive issues. With both Paswan and Manjhi publicly taking opposing positions, the reservation debate has now emerged as a significant point of friction within the alliance.
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