New Delhi: Samajwadi Party on Friday demanded
inclusion of 16 castes in Uttar Pradesh in the Scheduled
Castes list, castigating the Congress for "talking about poor
but working for the rich".
Raising the matter in Lok Sabha during Question Hour, SP
chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said his erstwhile government in the
state had sent a proposal to this effect in 2005 which had
been rejected by the Centre then.
He said facilities given to these castes through
reservation at the state level were withdrawn when the Centre
rejected the proposal.
"The Congress which says their hand (election symbol)
is for the people and the poor, actually talks about the poor
and works for the rich," Yadav said, leading to protests from
Congress benches.
The entire SP team also walked out of the House demanding
inclusion of these communities, like Kahar, Kewat, Malla,
Majhi, Kumhar and Prajapati, in the SC list, with Yadav saying
that official surveys on the population of these castes also
justified their inclusion.
Bureau Report
