BJP resents Jagan move for SC status to Dalit Christians

In a move that has stoked massive controversy, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress government on March 24 passed a resolution that promises to provide Scheduled Caste (SC) status to Dalits who converted to Christianity.

The state government justified its decision arguing that Dalit Christians were equally oppressed and deprived of better socio-economic and political status due to prolonged discrimination, and added that their holistic development must be taken up at par with other communities recognised as SC.

The state also said that it had received multiple representations from Dalit Christians who have been pleading for “equal rights, benefits and protection as other Scheduled Caste groups”.

“Socio-economic conditions of Scheduled Caste Hindus and converted Christians are one and the same, as they live in the same horizon and suffer humiliation, discrimination in society. None of these things change even if a person converts into another religion,” said Andhra Social Welfare Minister Merugu Nagarjuna, who introduced the resolution in the assembly.

Reacting sharply to this decision, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed a complaint with Andhra Pradesh Governor S Abdul Nazeer, decrying that “this arbitrary decision was aimed at encouraging large-scale religious conversions in the state”.

Urging the governor to rescind the resolution, state BJP Chief Somu Veerraju also alleged that such a move would blatantly deprive the constitutional mandated reservation to SC Hindus, and create religious animosity. They have also threatened to launch state-wide agitation until the government revokes its resolution.

Although multiple petitions over the issue are pending before the Supreme Court, the Narendra Modi government, in its two affidavits before the apex court, made it clear that it will not be extending SC reservation to Dalits who have converted to other faiths.

According to the Constitution, as of now, the SC status and its allied benefits can only be granted to Dalit Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists.

The Union government also constituted a three-member committee, led by former Chief Justice of India Justice KG Balakrishnan, in October 2022, to look into the reservation row of Dalit Christians and Muslims. This new panel was set up after the Central government rejected Justice Ranganath Misra’s report which backed SC reservations for Dalit Christians.

In a parallel development, a resolution was also passed to include Valmikis in the ST category, while assuring other tribal groups that the already mandated six percent reservation would remain untouched.

While both the resolutions are likely to face legal obstacles, in the caste-dominated politics of Andhra Pradesh, experts dubbed this move as Reddy’s social engineering exercise to reach out to the marginalised groups.

While Reddy, a practising Christian, had swept the 2019 assembly elections with BCs, STs, SCs and religious minority groups rallying behind him, he is leaving no stone unturned to thwart any possible attempt by Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP to woo them.