SC/ST quota amendment Bill ratified

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 7

The Himachal Vidhan Sabha today ratified the 126th Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2019 to pave the way for extension of the reservation facility for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the next 10 years.

The special session of the Vidhan Sabha had been specifically convened for the purpose as it is only after ratification by at least 50 per cent of the state assemblies that the Bill passed by both houses of the Parliament will become an Act. The brief three-hour session witnessed heated exchanges on the issue even as all legislators supported the Bill.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur urged the legislators to ratify the Bill so that term of reservation for SC/STs, which will expire on January 25, 2020, could be extended for a period of 10 years. “I urge the house to ratify the Bill which will ensure that the SC/STs continue to get the benefit of the Bill,” he said. He said even 70 years after independence, the people belonging to this section are still subjected to social discrimination despite legislation.

He said the Bill has to be ratified under Clause 2 (d) of Article 368 of the Constitution of India and the Rajya Sabha secretariat has to be apprised about it. Cutting across party lines legislators supported the ratification of the Bill as they felt that the reservation is needed to grant equality in socio-cultural, economic and all other spheres of life.

Thakur said though legal provisions like ensuring reservation and also SC, ST Atrocities Act have been put in place to provide justice and equal opportunities to all even then the situation on the ground is far from satisfactory. “We cannot deny the fact that even today people belonging to the SC or ST community are subjected to a lot of discrimination whether it is with regard to allowing entry into temples or during community meals they are made to sit separately. So it is not legislations and welfare schemes but change in the mindset of society which can bring about the real change,” he exhorted.

Participating in the debate, Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri said the Congress whole heartedly supports the Bill as SCs and STs need to be provided equal opportunities in every sphere of life.

“The social justice that Ambedkar envisioned for the nation is yet to be achieved and as such reservation is mandatory to uplift these deprived sections of society,” he remarked. He said despite there being 20 crore SCs and 10 crore STs as per 2011 census, they are getting far less representation.

Participating in the debate senior Congress MLA Asha Kumari said the real change will come about only if people belonging to the upper castes bring about a change in their mindset. “The Congress Party supports SC/ST reservation but it is not legislations which alone can eradicate social discrimination,” she remarked.

Others who participated in the debate included Harshwardhan Chauhan, Rakesh Singha, Balbir Singh, Ram Lal Thakur, Dhani Ram Shandil, Rakesh Pathania, Jagat Singh Negi, Rajeev Sehjal, Nand Lal and Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.