Govt rejects Supreme Court verdict on Dalit creamy layer

Modi govt has rejected the recent Supreme Court verdict asking for exclusion of ‘creamy layer’ among Dalits from the purview of quotas, saying that doing so would be unconstitutional.
“Recently, the Supreme Court gave a judgment on the issue of reservation. The SC has made some suggestions about SC/ST reservation in it. Today, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, wide discussions were held on this issue. And the well-thought-through opinion of the cabinet is that NDA govt is committed and dedicated towards the provisions of the Constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar. And as per provisions of Ambedkar, there is no provision of creamy layer in SC/ST reservation. Cabinet’s decision is that SC/ST reservation should be according to Babasaheb’s Constitution,” I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in what marked a swift rebuttal of the SC's landmark verdict.
Significantly, Modi had signalled govt's intent hours before the cabinet got down to discuss the issue by telling SC/ST MPs belonging to BJP that the apex court's verdict was only recommendatory and that govt was alive to their “genuine” concerns about it.
The top court had held that exclusion of creamy layer, a reference to those whose previous generation had benefited from the SC quota, would help reservation benefits reach the truly disadvantaged instead of being monopolised by better-off sections among Dalits.
The ruling came from the sole Dalit judge on the bench, Justice B R Gavai, with the others on the bench, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices Vikram Nath, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra and S C Sharma, concurring.
However, the idea that the concept of ‘creamy layer’, so far limited to OBCs, needed to be extended to Dalits as well ran afoul of the dominant opinion. Dalit politicians, intellectuals and activists argued that likening OBCs to Dalits was a folly because of the differences between the two categories and, also, that advancement in economic status of SCs did not erase the stigma or reduce the discrimination - the principal reason for bringing them under the cover of protective discrimination.
“Met a delegation of SC/ ST MPs today. Reiterated our commitment and resolve for the welfare and empowerment of SC/ST communities,” Modi said in a post on X, as his remarks also reflected that the govt was looking into the concerns expressed by community leaders regarding the recent Supreme Court order.