The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
Supreme Court Order on Reservation
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) firmly disagrees with the Supreme Court’s endorsement of the Andhra Pradesh High Court order to the effect that once an individual converts to Christianity and actively professes and practices the same, he cannot be regarded as a member of the Scheduled Caste community.
The CPI(M) firmly holds that the idea of reservation and other safeguards accorded to the scheduled caste community is based on the socio-economic status of the concerned communities. But the current judgment clearly gives precedence to the religious identity of the concerned group over those socio-economic considerations. Therefore, the current order defeats the very objective of according reservation and other safeguards as enshrined in the Constitution.
The Polit Bureau is of the opinion that this order must be referred to a Constitution Bench to examine and revise the current order.