India: August 10, 2013. (PCP) Making a plea to give parity to Dalit Christians with their Hindu counterparts, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa demanded deletion of the restrictive definition of Scheduled Castes in the Constitution (SCs) Order, 1950. “The matter cannot brook any further delay. Prompt steps should be taken to bring in necessary legislation in the current session of Parliament,” she wrote to the Prime Minister on Friday. Denial of affirmative action programmes to Dalit Christians is an injustice that has aggravated the sense of alienation among minority communities, she said and urged the PM to delete this ‘restrictive definition’ from the statute to bring all Dalits on equal platform irrespective of their faith. This would pave the way for Dalit Christians to avail benefits on par with SCs in Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism. Para 3 of the Constitution (SCs) Order, 1950—the Presidential Order—says “no person who professes a religion different from Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste) Putting forth strong legal arguments, Jayalalithaa said the Constitution (SCs) Ord­er, 1950, derives its sanction from Article 341 of the Constitution, but the Constitution does not confine SCs to any select religion. “By extending the benefits of positive affirmation to a certain category of persons and then to proceed to confine the benefits under the Constitution Order, 1950, to citizens professing only specified religions like Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism and excl­uding from its purview citizens professing other religions, is not only ultra vires Article 341 but also militates against the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution to liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship to all its citizens”, the Chief Minister observed.