Paswan defends reservation as constitutional right
Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan has said the government would engage in dialogue with anti-reservation protesters gathered at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar once they present their demands in a systematic manner. Speaking to reporters in Patna, Paswan stressed that reservation cannot be ended simply because someone demands it and is not charity extended to any group.
As reported by Hindustan Times, India Today, The New Indian Express, Outlook India, ThePrint and The Times of India, Paswan described reservation as a constitutional right rooted in the effort to bring communities that faced caste-based discrimination into the mainstream. He explained that Scheduled Castes were identified in the Constitution on the basis of untouchability and that Scheduled Tribes were listed for their distinct ways of life, with provisions incorporated under the vision of Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar. Paswan added that poor people from upper castes are already eligible for reservation through the 10 per cent Economically Weaker Sections quota introduced by the NDA government.
In remarks carried by The New Indian Express, Paswan later said reservation is a right that “no power on earth can ever abolish” and that those who speak of scrapping it under the garb of “review” or “reform” likely do not understand why it remains necessary. He opposed the idea of a creamy layer within reservation, arguing it would diminish collective strength, and cited continuing instances of discrimination, including reports of Dalit grooms being stopped from wedding processions and temple premises being washed after visits by prominent leaders. He also referred to a controversy involving Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Uttarakhand. Paswan stated that as long as he, the son of Ram Vilas Paswan, remains part of the government, he will not allow the system to be compromised.
Conditional openness to dialogue
Multiple outlets including The New Indian Express, Outlook India, ThePrint and The Times of India quoted Paswan saying any misunderstanding around reservation can create anger among a large section of the population. “Once the protesters present their demands systematically, the government will engage in dialogue with them,” he said. When asked about stronger comments from fellow minister Ramdas Athawale, Paswan told India Today and NewsBytes that the protesters were expressing concerns and that every issue could be addressed through dialogue.
Paswan also addressed political reactions to the protests. He described RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s support for a related student protest in Patna as “a good thing” and consistent with Yadav’s responsibility as Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, according to reports in The New Indian Express, Outlook India and ThePrint. At the same time he accused the Congress of diverting attention from a Vande Mataram controversy by staging a sit-in outside Parliament Street police station, referring to Rahul Gandhi’s dharna seeking an FIR over pellet injuries allegedly suffered by 19-year-old Sahil Lochab during earlier CJP-linked protests. Paswan separately expressed concern over rising sugar prices and said the issue would be resolved soon.
Protests at Jantar Mantar and police response
A large number of protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar carrying banners, posters and saffron flags and raising slogans against caste-based reservation, as reported across India Today, The New Indian Express, NewsBytes, Outlook India, ThePrint and The Times of India. They have demanded that economic criteria take precedence over caste when determining eligibility for government support and reservation. The Times of India reported that the gathering took place under the banner of Reservation Hatao Andolan and that protesters also sought a “one family, one reservation” policy. Hindustan Times noted that the campaign has operated heavily through Instagram, with the related Cockroach Janta Party effort drawing a large following, and listed demands that include greater weight to economic condition, examination of a creamy-layer criterion, a white paper on the reservation system’s impact, maintenance of minimum marks for higher education admissions, and expanded benefits for Economically Weaker Sections.
Delhi Police stated that no permission had been granted for any protest or gathering at Jantar Mantar over reservation reforms and warned against assembling on the basis of what it called misleading social media posts, according to India Today, The New Indian Express and The Times of India. NewsBytes reported that police had allowed a limited peaceful protest at Ramlila Maidan for up to 500 people until 4 pm. Despite the restrictions, many protesters assembled at Jantar Mantar; more than 50 were detained amid tightened security, as reported by Hindustan Times and The Times of India. The Times of India further noted plans for another gathering at Shah Auditorium and said prohibitory orders remained in force in the North District.
Athawale calls for sedition action
Union minister and Republican Party of India (Athawale) chief Ramdas Athawale took a sharper line. In statements reported by India Today, Lokmat Times and The New Indian Express, he demanded that sedition charges be invoked against those opposing or seeking the abolition of reservation. “Opposition to reservation is opposition to the Constitution. Those taking an anti-reservation stand are anti-constitutional and stringent action of sedition should be taken against them,” Athawale said. He argued that no one has the right to abolish reservation, which he described as a constitutional right advanced by Ambedkar for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, extended to Other Backward Classes during V.P. Singh’s tenure, and supplemented by the Modi government’s 10 per cent EWS quota.
Athawale told reporters in Patna, according to Lokmat Times, that those demanding abolition are acting against national interests. He noted that while untouchability is banned under Article 17, caste discrimination and atrocities against Scheduled Caste communities continue in rural India, and said those seeking to end reservation should first end the caste system. He added that the Modi government is working to protect reservation and that his party has been an NDA ally since 2014. In the same set of remarks he raised a separate demand concerning the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee and referred to the social-media campaign, urging a change in the name of the Cockroach Janata Party on the ground that India’s youth are not cockroaches.
Yadav insists reservation will remain
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also entered the debate. Lokmat Times reported his post on X stating “Reservation was, is and will remain.” Yadav alleged a conspiracy to end reservations under the guise of reform and called it a deep plot against what he termed PDA society—Pichhda (Backward Classes), Dalit and Alpsankhyak (Minorities). He accused the BJP and its allies of opposing reservation through vague language of “review,” “reform” or discussion of a creamy layer, and said reservation is a right of PDA communities rather than a matter of anyone’s whim.
Perspectives
Union minister Chirag Paswan has framed reservation as an unalterable constitutional right while signalling that the government is prepared to talk once protesters organise their demands clearly, pointing to the existing EWS quota as evidence that economic need is already addressed. Fellow minister Ramdas Athawale has cast opposition to reservation as anti-constitutional and called for sedition proceedings, insisting the system must continue for as long as caste discrimination persists. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has declared that reservation will endure and accused political rivals of seeking to dismantle it through reform rhetoric aimed at backward, Dalit and minority communities. The protesters themselves have pressed for economic criteria to outweigh caste in the allocation of government support and quotas, a demand several ministers have linked to misunderstanding of the system’s purpose.