Reservation Policy Debate Erupts in Indian Politics

The issue of reservation has once again come to the centre of politics amid protests at Jantar Mantar. Two Union ministers in the NDA government have come face to face with it. Even Union minister Chirag Paswan has demanded the resignation of his colleague Jitan Ram Manjhi. The demand was made by Chirag Paswan when the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) demanded a review of the reservation policy. The heated debate between these two Bihar leaders began when Manjhi's party HAM supported sub-quotas for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) within the existing reservation system. Santosh Kumar Suman, son of NDA's Manjhi and a minister in the Bihar government, said that a review is needed to ensure that the benefits of reservation reach the most vulnerable and historically marginalised communities. Suman said, "We are not talking about abolishing reservation. We are talking about making reservation more equitable, effective and accessible to both HAM (Chirag Paswan's) and LJP (LSP) allies in Bihar."