New Delhi, August 07: Samajwadi Party on Friday demanded inclusion of 16 castes in Uttar Pradesh in the Scheduled Castes list, castigating the Congress for “talking about poor but working for the rich”.
Raising the matter in Lok Sabha during Question Hour, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said his erstwhile government in the state had sent a proposal to this effect in 2005 which had been rejected by the Centre then.
He said facilities given to these castes through reservation at the state level were withdrawn when the Centre rejected the proposal.
“The Congress which says their hand (election symbol) is for the people and the poor, actually talks about the poor and works for the rich,” Yadav said, leading to protests from Congress benches.
The entire SP team also walked out of the House demanding inclusion of these communities, like Kahar, Kewat, Malla, Majhi, Kumhar and Prajapati, in the SC list, with Yadav saying that official surveys on the population of these castes also justified their inclusion.
–Agencies