Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes MPs are not given enough time to speak in Parliament, says NDA ally

Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, in a letter addressed to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, has said that MPs belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are not “given adequate time” to speak during discussions on important Bills in Parliament.

Mr. Manjhi heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), an ally of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

In his letter dated September 16, Mr. Manjhi referred to an “NDA sansad samooh samvaad baithak” (NDA MP Group Dialogue Meeting) held at his residence on August 5. He said that BJP Lok Sabha MP Gajendra Singh Patel, who represents Khargone, a reserved tribal constituency in Madhya Pradesh, had pointed out that MPs belonging to SC/ST communities were not being given adequate time to speak during discussions on important Bills in Parliament. Mr. Manjhi urged the Lok Sabha Speaker to take steps to rectify the situation.

Common demand

Mr. Patel, a  two-time MP, speaking to The Hindu over the phone from Khargone, said this was a sentiment expressed by many MPs and not by him alone. He also insisted that it was an “informal” recommendation. “This issue was flagged by many who were present at the meeting. I was not the only one to say so. Moreover, this was something that was discussed informally. Sometimes we get the opportunity, and sometimes we don’t. Of course, all parliamentarians want more floor time,” Mr. Patel said.

Mr. Manjhi, speaking to The Hindu, said the NDA MPs’ groups meet once every quarter. “These meetings are designed to give a platform to the NDA parliamentarians to air their grievances, and the leader chairing the group then conveys these concerns to the respective Ministry or department. At the August 5 meeting, Mr. Patel raised the issue on behalf of several first-time MPs from the SC and ST communities. Everyone should have the right to speak in Parliament. That is what I conveyed in my letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker,” he said.

Mr. Manjhi clarified that the group that met on August 5 was not made up exclusively of SC/ST MPs.

Recently, Mr. Manjhi made headlines for supporting the sub-categorisation of SC/ST reservation and the introduction of a creamy layer within reservation. He argued that the benefits of Scheduled Caste reservation were reaching only some relatively empowered Dalit communities, while extremely marginalised groups such as the Musahar and Musahar-Bhuiyan communities, which fall under the Mahadalit category, continued to be deprived of these benefits. His Cabinet colleague from Bihar and LJP(RV) chief Chirag Paswan strongly opposed the idea, arguing that reservation is based not on economic status but on historical “social discrimination and untouchability”.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 55 of the 131 seats reserved for SCs and STs, a sharp decline from its 2019 tally of 77 seats. The party has since sought to strengthen its outreach among these communities.