Bharat Bandh: Mass movement to protect reservation positive effort, says Akhilesh Yadav

Akhilesh Yadav. File Pic

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday backed the day-long Bharat Bandh called by some groups over community-based reservation, noting that "public movements" put a check on "unbridled government".

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister took to social media platform X to share his views on the issue.

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"The mass movement to protect reservation is a positive effort. It will instill new consciousness among the exploited and deprived and will prove to be a shield of people's power against any kind of tampering with reservation. Peaceful movement is a democratic right," he posted in Hindi.

"Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar had already warned that the Constitution will only work if the intentions of those implementing it are correct. When the governments in power will tamper with the Constitution and the rights given by it through fraud, scams and scandals, then the public will have to take to the streets. Public movements put a check on unbridled government," Yadav added.

Twenty-one organisations across the country have called for a Bharat Bandh on Wednesday against the Supreme Court's August 1 decision on the issue of SC-ST reservation. The organisations opposed this decision and said that it will harm the basic principles of reservation.

Meanwhile, the Bahujan Samaj Party has also extended support to the day-long Bharat Bandh called by some Dalit and Adivasi groups to protest against the Supreme Court's recent verdict on the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes (SCs).

The party also accused the BJP and the Congress of colluding to end reservation. It said these parties and others should understand the necessity of reservation and not play with it.

"BSP supports the Bharat Bandh because there is anger and resentment against the Supreme Court's August 1 decision regarding the sub-classification of SC/ST and the creamy layer among them due to the conspiracy against reservation by parties like BJP and Congress and their collusion to make it ineffective and eventually end it," BSP president Mayawati said in a post in Hindi on X.

"In this regard, the people of these classes will submit a memorandum to the government today as part of the Bharat Bandh and strongly demand that the changes made in reservation be abolished through a constitutional amendment...," she said.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister further said that the constitutional right of reservation given to the OBC community along with SCs and STs is the result of the continuous struggle of B R Ambedkar.

"BJP, Congress and other parties should understand its necessity and sensitivity and not play with it," she said.

(With inputs from PTI)