Bharat Bandh Today As Opposition, Dalit Groups Protest Supreme Court's Quota Order

Supreme Court Order On SC ST: Police in Patna lathi-charged protesters and deployed water cannons amid a 'Bharat bandh' to protest the Supreme Court's 'quota within a quota' decision about reservations in state jobs and colleges for SC and ST candidates. The strike was called for by two dozen Dalit and Adivasi groups - including the Reservation Bachao Sangharsh Samiti - and was marked, with varying degrees of intensity, in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and other states on Wednesday.

The bandh was also backed by some political parties, including Bihar's Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Bahujan Samaj Party in Madhya Pradesh. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, various Left parties, and the Congress, which heads the INDIA bloc (of which the JMM and RJD are members) voiced support.