Union Health Minister J P Nadda held a “cordial” meeting with representatives of the anti-reservation protest team.
The meeting followed the August 21 agitation at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar against caste-based reservation.
Protesters seek reservation reforms, greater focus on economic disadvantage and a review of the existing system.
Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on Thursday said he held a “cordial” meeting with representatives of the team behind the recent agitation at Jantar Mantar against caste-based reservation, and indicated that another meeting would be held soon.
In a post on X, Nadda said the meeting with Harsh Dubey, Ran Bahadur Singh Chauhan and Mrityunjay Pathak took place as scheduled following the August 21 protest.
“Following the agitation held at Jantar Mantar on August 21, I had a cordial discussion, as scheduled, with Harsh Dubey, Ran Bahadur Singh Chauhan and Mrityunjay Pathak, members of the team. In this regard, we will meet again soon,” Nadda said in his post on X.
The “Reservation Hatao Andolan” campaign, which has more than 5 million followers on Instagram, had organised the demonstration through social media. Protesters argued that state assistance and benefits should be based on economic hardship rather than solely on caste.
Demonstrators said financial circumstances should be considered while deciding eligibility for government assistance, including education, coaching and scholarships.
A protester from the Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha told PTI that poor people, irrespective of caste, should receive support for education, coaching and other needs.
Another participant said the movement was not opposed to welfare but wanted assistance to be targeted at those who needed it, including through scholarships, fee support and coaching.
Demand For Reforms
Protesters also sought a comprehensive review of the existing reservation structure and advocated a “quota within quota” to ensure benefits reach disadvantaged groups.
Participants said the government should examine whether the present system was achieving its intended purpose and whether reservation benefits were reaching people at the grassroots level.
YouTuber Ajeet Bharti also addressed the gathering and questioned the government's position on excluding the creamy layer from reservation benefits. He demanded a white paper assessing the impact of the reservation system over the past eight decades.
Bharti cited Bihar's Musahar community as an example of a group he said had not received adequate benefits from reservations.
The protesters also called for minimum marks for admission to higher educational institutions and sought greater benefits for Economically Weaker Sections.
The demonstration also raised concerns over the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and UGC higher education policies.
