Justice Katju tells Dalits to give up quota, invites ire

Jalandhar, April 14

Former SC Judge Markandey Katju today stirred up a hornet’s nest by asking Dalits to give up reservation “for their own best interests” during an event held to celebrate the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar at Ambedkar Bhawan today.

He stated this while addressing a gathering in Doaba, which has 45 per cent Dalit population. However, it did not go down well with a section of the audience, which raised slogans against him.

“Reservation is damaging the Dalits. You are being fooled by crafty politicians who do not want you to align with like-minded non-Dalits. Reservation perpetrates hatred at a time when a united struggle is necessary,” he said.

“Dalits themselves should demand that they don’t need reservation. Work on your own might and merit. Reservation is a crutch being used to weaken you for the sake of vote bank politics,” he said.

After he completed his speech, a section of the audience stood up and questioned his take on reservation. However, it soon escalated into a protest and sloganeering against him. Terming his statement “unconstitutional”, protesters asked the organisers to stop the event. The event resumed after 15 minutes after the police drove out the protesters. — TNS