India
oi-Gaurav Sharma
A row between two Union ministers over the reservation policy broke out following demands from Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) for a modification in the reservation policy to provide benefits to the most backward communities in the scheduled castes and tribes.
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) President Chirag Paswan has opposed any change in the existing reservation policy for the most vulnerable groups saying his party will oppose any move to introduce a creamy layer or sub-classification of the SCs.
Union ministers Jitan Ram Manjhi and Chirag Paswan conflict over modifying the SC/ST reservation policy. Manjhi’s HAM(S) seeks benefits for the most backward within SCs, while Paswan’s LJP(RV) opposes sub-classification or a ‘creamy layer’, despite the 2024 Supreme Court allowing states to adopt such methods.
“I think if Manjhi is thinking about the creamy layer, first he should resign as he should not take the name of justice. His son should also resign,” Paswan said in reply to Manjhi’s criticism.
The arguments came against the backdrop of renewed debates on the need for reservation and widespread protests by anti-quota parties in Jantar Mantar, Delhi.
LJP(Ram Vilas) and HAM(S) are alliance partners of Nitish Kumar in Bihar as well as at the Centre. However, the two leaders have differed over the sharing of reservation benefits among various SCs.
HAM(S) has been arguing that more economically prosperous Dalit castes have been getting more benefits than the most vulnerable ones in terms of jobs and education. Manjhi himself belongs to the Mushahar Dalit community, which is one of the most oppressed groups in Bihar. His son Santosh Kumar Suman, a minister in the state government, has advocated introducing a more targeted system of reservation.
#WATCH | Patna, Bihar: Union Minister Chirag Paswan says, “The Congress party and its leader—the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi—have expressed concern regarding the discrimination Dalits still face today, citing several examples. If the social situation remains unchanged,… pic.twitter.com/93cJ96ZMhg
— ANI (@ANI) August 29, 2026
The issue of sub-classification acquired renewed importance after the Supreme Court in 2024 permitted states to adopt this method for SCs and STs.
The Centre, however, opposes any changes in the creamy-layer norm for OBCs for SCs and STs. The Union government has been opposing the extension of the creamy-layer policy for decades. Paswan even fears that sub-classification of the SCs will further undermine caste-based discrimination as it will prevent them from presenting a united front.
