Chirag Paswan vs Jitan Ram Manjhi: Clash Over SC/ST Reservation Review Demands Resignations

Union ministers Chirag Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi have publicly clashed over demands to review Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) reservations, escalating tensions within India’s ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Paswan, who leads the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and serves as a Union minister, has called for the resignation of Manjhi, founder of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Union minister, and his son Santosh Kumar Suman, a minister in Bihar’s state government. The dispute centers on proposals to review and potentially sub-categorize SC/ST quotas, which both sides argue affect Dalit welfare but interpret differently.

Speaking to reporters in Patna on Saturday, Paswan criticized Manjhi and Suman for advocating a review of reservation policies while holding ministerial positions. “If the father-son duo wanted such changes, they should first quit their posts—one at the Centre and one in the state—and then raise the matter in Parliament,” he said. Paswan emphasized that reservations are a constitutional right rooted in historical social discrimination, not a form of charity subject to periodic review.

The controversy stems from calls to review and sub-categorize SC/ST quotas to ensure benefits reach the most marginalized within these communities. Suman, Bihar’s Minister of Revenue and Land Reforms, defended the proposal on Friday, stating, “We are asking for a review of SC/ST quotas so that quota benefits reach the least privileged among us.” Manjhi, a Member of Parliament from Gaya, has also supported sub-categorization, citing the Supreme Court’s 2024 judgment allowing sub-classification based on empirical data and framing it as a matter of social justice.

Paswan’s position aligns with that of his late father, Ram Vilas Paswan, who had opposed the introduction of a separate “Mahadalit” category in Bihar over a decade ago under then Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The current dispute marks a rare public split within the NDA, which governs both at the Centre and in Bihar.

In response to Paswan’s remarks, Manjhi challenged him to resign instead, arguing that Paswan fails to grasp the broader interests of Dalits. “It is not us, but Chirag Paswan who should resign,” Manjhi said. He added that certain Dalit castes remain more vulnerable and require targeted welfare measures, which sub-categorization could facilitate.

The clash highlights growing divisions within the NDA over reservation policy, a politically sensitive issue in Bihar and across India. While Paswan defends existing quotas as constitutionally protected rights, Manjhi and Suman argue that sub-categorization is necessary to address intra-community inequities among Dalits and Adivasis.

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