The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) central working president Alok Kumar said on Sunday that the VHP would not allow legitimate rights of SC/STs to be snatched away by converts.
Kumar told a press conference here that the VHP was planning to undertake a widespread public awareness campaign across the country to expose the conspiracies of providing reservation to converted SC/STs.
He said the VHP does not oppose giving reservations to SC/STs as these people have historically been deprived on the basis of their castes, but it will oppose reservation to anyone from Abrahamic religions.
“Abrahamic religions always claim to have no caste distinctions among them and therefore SC/ST reservation cannot be extended to them,” he argued.
The press conference comes in the wake of the union government appointing a commission under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan to examine the matter to accord SC status to converted SCs (dalit Christians) and its implications on existing SCs (dalit Hindus).
Pointing out at the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950, Kumar contended that this order was very clear that only Hindu SCs would get reservation facilities.
Kumar cited several court judgements, rejecting the demand for SC status to converts.
“The rights of the SCs of Bharat (India) can’t be allowed to be snatched away by the converts,” he said.
(Published 16 October 2022, 18:46 IST)
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