Allahabad High Court (archive photo)
Leader Online Desk : Allahabad High Court : The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court recently heard an old PIL seeking a permanent ban on caste-based rallies. In this case, the court has issued notices to the four major political parties of Uttar Pradesh namely Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The bench fixed April 10 as the date for further hearing of the matter.
A bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Jaspreet Singh passed the order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by local advocate Motilal Yadav. The petitioner had sought a ban on caste-based rallies in Uttar Pradesh. On July 11, 2013, while hearing the matter, the bench had placed an interim ban on organizing caste-based marches in the state. In its order, the bench had said, 'Organizing rallies based on caste cannot be justified.'
The petitioner contends that political parties organize caste-based rallies to attract voters from the majority community. But this is an act against democracy. Due to such rallies, the ethnic minorities of the country have become second class citizens in their own country. Despite the clear constitutional provisions and fundamental rights enshrined therein, they feel frustrated and cheated in the political game of votes.'
