Let only SC members cast votes in constituencies reserved for them, says Bihar ex-CM Jitan Ram Manjhi

PATNA: Injecting another churn into the caste cauldron, Dalit leader and former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Sunday demanded laws to ensure that people belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) communities have voting rights in constituencies reserved for SCs in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.

“Separate voter lists for the SC people should be prepared for constituencies reserved for them. Only the SC people should be allowed to cast votes in these constituencies. This will ensure that their rights are protected and they are empowered,” said Manjhi, the national president of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), at a “garib mahasammelan” (rally for the poor) he organised at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan.

The 73-year-old Dalit leader, who served as Bihar CM for nine months after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, cited the example of election for seats of the Legislative Councils reserved for graduates and teachers, in which only they are allowed to vote.

He also demanded that the Centre release the caste-related data of the 2011 census. His ally, the jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, had earlier raised the demand several times. Speaking at the rally, which was attended by a large number of people from SC communities, Manjhi’s son Santosh Manjhi put forward a proposal seeking 85 per cent reservation for people from backward communities.

Attacking both the Centre and Bihar’s Nitish Kumar-led NDA government, the former CM said the condition of Dalits had worsened in the past few years due to the rulers’ apathy. He accused the Bihar government of targeting the Dalit community in the name of implementing prohibition in the state.

“More than one lakh people, most of them from the poor and Dalit communities, have been jailed for violating the liquor ban. The government must stop torturing Dalits,” he said. He also accused the Centre of harassing Lalu Prasad Yadav by “unduly registering” criminal cases against him. Referring to the fodder scam cases, he said the judiciary was delivering “different punishments to people for similar offences”.

Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav of RJD, who attended the rally along with some of his party colleagues, slammed Nitish Kumar and dared him to form a government in Bihar without any alliance.

The ruling JD(U) leaders ridiculed Manjhi for the rally, accusing him of misleading the community for electoral gains. “Manjhi is trying to fly kites by teaming up with a man who has no threads left in his hands,” said JD(U) spokesperson Ajay Alok.