Former Union Minister Shanta Kumar has said that in the name of helping the poor, the benefits of reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) are being disproportionately taken by influential and wealthy families, leaving the poorest in these communities without opportunities.
Welcoming the Supreme Court’s decision to admit a petition seeking the removal of the creamy layer from SC/ST reservation, he congratulated petitioner Ramshankar Prajapati and thanked the apex court for taking the matter up for consideration.
Shanta Kumar said that while SC and ST categories have been granted special reservations to uplift the disadvantaged, some affluent families within these groups have repeatedly availed themselves of the benefits. “In many villages, two or three members from the same family have become IAS officers, using reservation multiple times, while some of the very poor in the same caste still live in deep poverty,” he said.
He stressed that such repeated access to benefits by already well-off families has blocked opportunities for the truly needy. According to him, this pattern has persisted for years, depriving some of the poorest individuals in these communities of educational and government job opportunities.
The former Union Minister urged the Supreme Court to issue clear directives to the government rather than mere recommendations, ensuring that the injustice faced by the poorest members of SC and ST groups is corrected. “This time, the court must give orders so that those still bearing the burden of poverty can finally get a fair chance,” he added.
