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Mayawati to back Gujjars’ demand

JAIPUR: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Sunday said her party would support the extension of the Scheduled Tribe status to Gujjars for reservation in jobs and education without disturbing the share of Meenas and other tribes in the category. A specific percentage should be fixed for quota to Gujjars, she added.

Addressing a massive rally of the BSP here, Ms. Mayawati lashed out at the Vasundhara Raje government for creating divisions between Gujjars and Meenas on the reservation issue and asked it to put forward the Gujjars’ demand properly before the Centre.

Calling upon the Centre to make its stand clear on the issue, Ms. Mayawati said the ST quota should be raised to ensure that no caste, presently incorporated in the category, was overlooked or adversely affected. Despite the Gujjars’ agitation for more than a year, the State government, she said, had failed to find a solution to the issue.

With an eye on the Assembly elections scheduled later this year, Ms. Mayawati accused both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress of trying to “abolish the reservation arrangement.” She favoured quota for all SC, ST, OBCs and the poor among forward castes in the private sector as well, saying she had laid the foundation for the system in Uttar Pradesh.

The U.P. Chief Minister said the BSP would adopt the “social engineering model” in Rajasthan by taking along the people of all higher castes to promote brotherhood.

Taking a dig at the ruling BJP, she said, “a government that does not believe in harmony among various sections of society should be thrown out of power.”

She urged the Centre to provide employment to those living below poverty line throughout the year under the NREG Scheme to be extended to all districts in the country from the new financial year.

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