HC bans caste-based political rallies in UP

Such rallies are against Constitution; Notice to centre, state and parties

LUCKNOW In a major setback to political parties, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court on Thursday banned castebased rallies and conferences in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous and politically crucial state.

The court of justice Uma Nath Singh and justice Mahendra Dayal also issued notices to the central and state governments, election commission, ruling Samajwadi Party, main opposition Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Congress and BJP.

The order came on a PIL of local lawyer Motilal Yadav, who sought ban on such rallies. Putting up his case, Yadav said political parties in the state had been dividing society in the name of castes. He said various political parties were orgainsing Brahmin, Khatriya, Kurmi, Dalit etc rallies.

It all started with BSP organising 38 Brahmin conferences in May-June 2013 and culminated in a massive Brahmin rally in Lucknow on July 7. BSP chief Mayawati had addressed the rally. The party had also organised a series of Muslim ‘bhaichara’ conferences all over the state. BSP general secretary Nasimuddin Siddique was in charge of the Muslim conferences.

Yadav told the court that BJP and SP, too, had organised Brahmin conferences.

He said there was a spurt in caste rallies because of the forthcoming Lok Sabha election. Pointing out that these rallies were disturbing the harmony in society, Yadav said they were against the basic concept of the Constitution.

Additional advocate general Bulbul Godiyal appeared on behalf of the state government. She told the court that the state government’s role was limited to maintaining law and order during these rallies.

On July 8, the SP had organised backward class ‘mahasammelan’ in Meerut. Panchayat minister Balram Yadav had addressed the rally. The SP also organized a Muslim conference recently.

Welcoming the decision, teacher-turned politician Om Prkash Sharma told HT that these rallies were against the Constitution. He said in successive parliamentary and assembly elections after implementation of Mandal commission report in 1990, caste aspect had emerged a dominant factor in electoral combination.

He said not only castes but also “sub-castes” had demanded their pound of flesh. He added: “Political parties in UP had destroyed the ‘secular character’ of the Constitution.” Prof Badri Narain of GB Pant Institute, Allahabad said castebased politics had adversely affected development.

With caste playing a crucial role in the state’s electoral politics, almost all parties have been trying to woo various castes to widen their vote bank. And with the 2014 parliamentary poll nearing, a virtual ‘caste war’ has ensued. Caste dynamics is also reflecting in distribution of Lok Sabha election tickets.

In the absence of any authentic data, a rough estimate of UP’s caste combination is backward classes 52% (as per Mandal report), Dalits 18%, Brahmins and Thakurs 5% each, Muslims 17% and remaining 3%. Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats — the highest in the country.