‘Don’t mislead society on creamy layer for SCs, STs’

New Delhi: Law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Friday asked the Opposition not to “mislead” the society on the “observations” of a Supreme Court judge on carving out a creamy layer for exclusion from SC/ST reservations.

Meghwal was replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha when Shiv Sena-UBT member Bhausaheb Wakchaure raised the issue of the Supreme Court judgment on creamy layer in SC/ST quotas.

“The reference to creamy layer in the sub-categorisation of SC/STs is an observation by a Supreme Court judge and not a part of the decision. The member should not make an attempt to mislead the society,” Meghwal said. He said the Constitution does not have any provision for reservation for SC/STs in the Rajya Sabha or legislative councils in various states.

The law minister said under article 332 of the Constitution, seats are reserved for the SCs and STs in the state legislative assemblies, in proportion to their population.