All political parties should come together to amend the Constitution to shield all reservation laws from judicial review, Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday, a day after the Supreme Court said the reservation is not a fundamental right.
Hearing petitions filed by all political parties seeking a direction to the Centre to implement 50% reservation for the Backward Classes in Tamil Nadu in the all-India quota seats for medical and dental courses, the court said reservation of seats for a certain community was not a fundamental right. The petition was withdrawn.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Paswan said no government could remove reservation as long there were social and economic conditions that put a section of society down. “Reservation is the result of the Poona Pact between Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi. If any one raises ifs or buts about it now, they will be negating the Poona Pact,” he said.
Mr. Paswan said there were still instances of Dalit grooms riding a horse in a wedding procession being beaten up.
“On behalf of the Lok Janshakti Party, I would appeal to leaders of all political parties to lay this controversy to rest forever by putting all reservation laws in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution,” he said.
The Ninth Schedule contains a list of Central and State laws that cannot be challenged in court. Currently, 284 laws are shielded from judicial review.
“We can’t allow any judicial oscillation on the issue. And in the past..., there have been contradictions in the Supreme Court’s own rulings on the subject,” Mr. Paswan said.
