Abolish caste-based reservation, says Shanta Kumar after HP govt sets up General Category Commission

PTI, Dec 12, 2021, 10:34 AM IST

Veteran BJP leader and former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar has said caste-based reservation should be fully abolished in government jobs.

In a Facebook post on Sunday morning, Shanta Kumar said the time has come for reservation based on family income after fully abolishing the caste-based quota system.

Reacting to the setting up of the General Category Commission (Samanya Varg Aayog) in Himachal Pradesh on Friday, he said the government had to yield immediately to the demand of the protesters in Dharamshala for setting up the commission.

The demonstration in Dharamshala in support of setting up the Commission for general category communities was historic and unprecedented in Himachal Pradesh, he added.

About 80 per cent people of the country are fed up of caste-based reservation, he claimed.

Justifying his demand of abolishing the caste-based quota, the veteran BJP leader said the poor among the reserved castes have not been able to get full benefit of reservation for a long time.

The rich among the reserved categories have enjoyed the benefit of reservation, he said, adding that the demand to exclude the creamy layer from the reservation has been raised several times.

The leaders of the reserved categories in many political parties fall under the creamy layer, he claimed.

Shanta Kumar further said the Supreme Court has also issued directions to exclude creamy layer from reservation but the category of people are taking the benefit of reservation even today.

The former chief minister also said India ranks 117 among 130 countries listed according to the recent Global Hunger Index report.

It has been stated in the report that 19.40 crore people in India go to sleep on an empty stomach. As per an estimate, 12 crore people among them are from the reserved categories, he said, adding that it indicated that the rich among the reserved categories secured benefits of reservation.

India is celebrating its 75th year of independence, while on the other hand over 19 crore poor people still sleep on empty stomach, the BJP leader pointed out.