Caste-based politics can distort spirit of democracy, says SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday underscored the dangers of caste-based and regional politics in a democratic setup, equating them with communal politics in their ability to distort the spirit of representative democracy.

- Utkarsh Anand

The observations came as the court refused to entertain a plea seeking the deregistration and derecognition of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), instead urging a broader re-look at political party reforms.

A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, while hearing a petition filed by Tirupati Narasimha Murari, a Shiv Sena member who had challenged the legality of AIMIM's registration with the Election Commission of India (ECI), said, "Let us not confine to only parties propagating communal ideas. There are regional parties which do regional politics and then there are politics asking for votes on caste. They are equally dangerous."