Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale pitched for expanding the overall reservation net from 50 per cent to 75 per cent, on Thursday, to make it more inclusive without harming anyone’s interest.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

Athawale, who was in Patna to review the implementation of various welfare schemes for the underprivileged, said, “The distances among various castes in the society is increasing. Various communities like the Jats, Marathas and Patels are also demanding reservation. But, there is a 50% cap on the overall reservation. If they are included in the present reservation net, the quota for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Backward Classes will get cut.”

He suggested that the way out was to expand the reservation upper limit by introducing a constitutional amendment. “The Centre should introduce a legislation to increase the quota to 75 per cent to nclude new communities in it,” said Athawale. The minister also expressed concern over the 10,000 cases of Dalit atrocities registered in Bihar in 2016. “While Uttar Pradesh tops the chart, cases of atrocities against Dalits are also high in states like Bihar, Maharashtra and Rajasthan,” he said, adding that a positive attitude was required to eliminate casteism.

Athawale said encouraging inter-caste marriage will also go a long way in eliminating casteism from society. “Even though the government provides an incentive, official figures say there were only 8 inter-caste marriages in Bihar,” he said.

ATROCITIES ON RISE

  • Ramdas Athawale expressed concern over the 10,000 cases of Dalit atrocities registered in Bihar in 2016.  
  • He said encouraging inter-caste marriage will help in eliminating casteism.