JAIPUR: Capable people should give up reservation benefits while the same should only be utilised by poor and deprived sections, said BJP MP from Dausa Jaskaur Meena. “Since I am an MP, I did not allow my children to take advantage of reservation. Capable people like me should stop taking benefits of reservation,” said Jaskaur Meena in a surprising statement.
The comments have drawn strong disagreement from BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena, who is upset over this statement. In a sharp reaction to Jaskaur’s statement, Kirodi Lal Meena advised her to first resign from the Lok Sabha seat she holds as an ST leader before making tall claims.
On this, BJP Rajya Sabha member Kirodi Lal Meena, while talking to the media on Saturday, said, “If Jaskaur is leaving reservations, then she should first resign from the membership of the Parliament. If she (Jaskaur) is not taking advantage of reservations, then why did she contest in the reserved seat of Dausa?”
“Jaskaur Meena can say anything. ... I feel the STs still need more reservations. Earlier she had fought from the reserved seat of Sawai Madhopur. Her son-in-law has become an IPS officer by taking benefits of the reservation. Such statements mislead the public.”
Jaskaur Meena, while interacting with the media on Friday, had said, “I am sitting in front of you though I never got formal education. Now that I have become an MP, I did not take the benefit of reservations for my children. Capable people should leave the benefit of reservations and take the responsibility for the education of at least five children.”
In Rajasthan, the total reservation is 64 per cent. Reservation for SCs is 16 per cent, STs is 12 per cent and 21 per cent for OBCs. The biggest beneficiary of the ST category in Rajasthan is the Meena caste.
Differences between the two leders have gone on for some time. Reservation is a sensitive issue and given the 2023 assembly elections, BJP vies to woo SC-ST voters with their new outreach towards such communities.