Manjhi Writes to Speaker Birla, Flags Limited Speaking Time for SC/ST MPs

Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, flagging that parliamentarians from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities do not get sufficient time on the floor during debates on significant legislation.

Mr. Manjhi, who leads the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), a partner in the ruling National Democratic Alliance, raised the matter in a letter dated September 16.

The communication refers to an NDA parliamentarians' dialogue meeting hosted at his residence on August 5. At that gathering, Gajendra Singh Patel, the BJP MP from Khargone — a reserved tribal constituency in Madhya Pradesh — observed that SC and ST members were being allotted inadequate time to speak on important Bills. Mr. Manjhi asked the Speaker to take corrective measures.

Mr. Patel, a two-term MP, described the point as one voiced by several colleagues rather than by him alone, and characterised it as an informal suggestion. He noted that opportunities to speak vary and that every parliamentarian naturally seeks more time on the floor.

According to Mr. Manjhi, the NDA MPs' groups convene once a quarter to let alliance members place their concerns before the leadership, which then takes them up with the relevant ministry or department. He said Mr. Patel had spoken on behalf of a number of first-time SC and ST MPs, and that the right to speak in Parliament should extend to all members. He also clarified that the August 5 meeting was not restricted to SC and ST legislators.

The letter comes amid a wider debate on reservation policy. Mr. Manjhi has recently backed sub-categorisation within SC and ST quotas and the idea of a creamy layer, contending that the benefits of Scheduled Caste reservation have flowed mainly to relatively better-off Dalit communities while extremely marginalised groups such as the Musahar and Musahar-Bhuiyan, classified as Mahadalit, remain excluded. Chirag Paswan, his Cabinet colleague and the LJP(RV) chief, has opposed the proposal, maintaining that reservation rests on historical social discrimination and untouchability rather than economic standing.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP secured 55 of the 131 seats reserved for SCs and STs, down from 77 in 2019, and has since stepped up outreach to these communities.