Nagpur: After stirring a controversy over Lord Ram and non-vegetarian food, NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad sparked another controversy with his comment on the need for reservation in judiciary.
At a public event in Nagpur late Tuesday, Awhad said certain judgments “stink of casteism”. Twenty-four hours later, Awhad tweeted this was his opinion, and his statement must not be looked at in isolation, but as part of his almost one-hour speech.
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“I feel sad even today…Babasaheb Ambedkar should have kept reservations in the judicial system as well. By not giving reservation in the judiciary system, injustice was done to 80 percent of the society…Some judicial decisions come in a way that they immediately smell of casteism…This is not expected from the judiciary,” Awhad said while addressing an event at the Samata Parishad organised by the NCP in Nagpur.
“…The decisions should be unbiased, they should be outside the caste system, such is the expectation of the Constitution, but does this happen?” he questioned.
The NCP leader further said, “Bahujan people are starting to appear in the Bar Council now…Their generations are not educated…They used to go to bars,” as quoted by the media.
Awhad then shared a video clip of the event on his social media handle in which he’s heard saying “I feel Babasaheb (Ambedkar) should have kept reservation in judiciary also.”
Awhad posted on X that the media was picking on parts of his speech and “presenting it out of context for TRPs”.
Earlier, Awhad sparked a controversy by referring to Lord Rama as a meat eater. “We don’t read history and forget everything in politics. Ram is ours. Of us Bahujans. Who used to hunt to eat… Ram was never a vegetarian. He was a non-vegetarian. How can a man who lived in the jungle for 14 years remain a vegetarian,” he said during a speech in Shirdi.
Following his remarks, multiple FIRs have been filed against the NCP leader for hurting religious sentiments. Based on the complaints across several police stations, they have booked Awhad under section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
