Upper Castes Should Get 15 Per Cent Reservation: Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan

In an interview with the Hindustan Times, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has said that Upper Castes also deserve 15 per cent reservation in line with the reservations for other communities in India.

The interview, conducted in the backdrop of protests against amendments of the SC/ST act focussed on the way the NDA is being perceived by various communities. Paswan’s LJP is a part of the ruling NDA alliance.

The minister also said that SCs and OBCs have blood relations and there can be nobody could take away reservations from the SCs until OBCs enjoy it. Hence there was no need for protests by the SCs.

The minister’s comments come shortly after his Cabinet colleague Ramdas Athwale made a similar demand for 25 per cent reservation for upper caste poor. Athwale had also claimed that the NDA would easily win over 300 seats in the national elections.

He also said that the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi can never be perceived as anti-Dalit while questioning why the protests were reported only in three election-bound states.