Bharat Bandh: SP, Congress, Left lend support for nationwide bandh
PTI
New Delhi, August 21 - Dalit and Adivasi groups have called for a nationwide strike today to protest against the Supreme Court’s decision to permit the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
As many as twenty one organisations have called for Bharat Bandh against the SC order.
Left parties, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Bahujan Samajwadi Party have announced that would extend support to the nationwide bandh.
Early morning visuals shared by news agency ANI showed the ‘Reservation Bachao Sangharsh Samiti’ demonstrating in Patna. Protesters had also blocked NH-83 in the Jehanabad. Visuals shared by OTV showed protests at Bhubaneswar railway station, disrupting rail services.
The verdict, according to National Confederation of Dalit and Adivasi Organisations (NACDAOR), threatens the constitutional rights of SCs and STs.
The organisation has called on the government to enact a new law on reservation for SCs, STs, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) that will be protected by its inclusion in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
Even though the apex court judgement paves way for the most backward groups among Dalits to receive more benefits from the reservation policy, some Bahujan leaders and activists fear that it may hurt the attempts to forge a united Dalit movement.
-The Indian Express
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