Overview
- The dispute turned public when Chirag Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi exchanged sharp remarks and demanded each other’s resignation in Bihar, with the confrontation escalating on Saturday.
- Paswan said creating sub‑categories or a 'creamy layer' inside SC/ST quotas would divide Dalits and urged ministers who support it to quit their posts.
- Manjhi and his son Santosh Suman defended sub‑classification as a way to direct benefits to the most deprived Dalit castes such as Musahars and said Paswan should resign for opposing targeted welfare.
- There is no change to law or central policy: the issue sits on a split legal and political ground after a 2024 Supreme Court ruling allowing state sub‑classification and a prior Centre affidavit opposing economic or intra‑SC criteria.
- JD(U) and other NDA figures have called for calm to contain the row, but the clash risks deepening alliance strains in Bihar and could reshape Dalit vote calculations and reservation debates ahead of local contests.