Chirag Paswan Defends Reservation Amid Jantar Mantar Row

He was addressing reporters at the Patna airport before leaving for Delhi, when asked about the demand for discontinuation of the reservation system by some students protesting at Jantar Mantar.

Paswan Defends Constitutional Reservation

Paswan said reservations are not granted on anybody’s wish, they are constitutional provisions aimed at providing an opportunity for people of backward communities – the Constitution had identified them as scheduled caste and tribe and created provision for reservation to improve their situation. He added there are still incidents of social discrimination in society, which means it’s still relevant to talk about the strengthening of social justice.

"Any sort of misunderstanding around reservation can create anger among a large section of the country's population. Once the protesters present their demands systematically, the government will engage in dialogue with them," Paswan added.

Police Deny Protest Permission

Delhi Police told that no permission was granted to any person or group to protest against reservation at Jantar Mantar, and cautioned people against assembling there with “misleading” social media messages. Some videos and posts have been coming out on social media in the recent past inviting the public to join a protest at Jantar Mantar on Sunday against the reservation system.

"Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which replaced Section 144 of the CrPC, are already in force in New Delhi district," Delhi Police said.

Protesters Seek Economic-Based Aid

This is the latest warning from the police as several people assembled at the Jantar Mantar on Friday for the ‘Reservation Hatao Andolan (RHA)’ protest against the caste-based reservation and called for a complete change in the system. People carrying placards and saffron flags at the protest said the government should provide students with aid (education, coaching, among others) on economic basis, and not on the basis of caste.

They said even they are not satisfied with the current reservation policy as a large section of the society who are at a disadvantage are not getting the due advantage while others have gained out of it and are also opposing the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act demanding its repeal.