It reserved a particular backward community to carry out cleaning jobs
Leaders from backward classes have expressed their disappointment with the government resolution issued by the social justice department that stated that people belonging to the lower castes among the scheduled castes would be designated the work of cleaning roads and lavatories.
The leaders claimed that the Constitution has mentioned that the word SC and ST should be used instead of mentioning specific castes.
The GR dated November 10 stated that successors from Mehtar and Balmiki community should get the same job, which their ancestors used to do in the past. The posts in cleaning section should be reserved for these categories only.The GR was issued as the Cabinet has taken the decision over it in its meeting held on September 16, 2015. The GR had mentioned the name of a community that has not been officially used in the last 40 years.
That community has been designated the work of cleaning lavatories. Condemning the GR and its language, Dr Nitin Raut, Congress leader and former minister who hails from backward class, threatened to protest against the government if it was not withdrawn. He said, “The BJP government has deliberately taken such a decision and they do not want the backward class to develop and join the mainstream society.”“Use of the community’s name was used and it has deliberately been used in GR. The Indian Constitution does not state that specific communities should be designated the work of cleaning of lavatory and others,” he said.
Dr Raut said people from all communities should be involved in the cleaning works and not just people from a particular “backward” community. Anyone who needs the job and is ready to accept a cleaning job can join it, he added.
Dr Amrut Gorule, president of Antyoday, the organisation instituted by late Congress leader Vasant Chavan, said, he had opposed reserving the cleaning jobs only for Mehatar and Balmiki communities.
The late Congress leader was the member of committee who had submitted its report to the state that has partially been accepted by the government. However, in the Cabinet meeting held in September, the state has accepted recommendations of V.S. Page committee that had suggested keeping reserving posts in cleaning jobs for descendants of employees who belong to Mehatar and Balmiki communities.
Dr Gorule said that the Page report was submitted 40 years ago and at that time, successors of their current employees needed the reservation as they were mostly illiterate and therefore not best suited for most other occupations. But now, most of the youngsters from those communities are either graduates or post graduates and hence deserve better jobs. The government should consider their demand and alter the GR accordingly, he said.
