Quota in Chhattisgarh raised to 76 pc: Experts say govt move politically motivated, wont stand in court

The Chhattisgarh governments move to raise the reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to 76 per cent ahead of the next years Assembly elections is politically motivated and would not survive in the court of law, say political and legal experts.

The Chhattisgarh High Court has already held twice that reservation beyond 50 per cent is impermissible, and re-promulgating the same policy is an eyewash, they claim.

The state governments latest move has come ahead of the bypoll scheduled on Monday in Bhanupratappur Assembly segment, reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates.

Two amendment bills related to quota in government jobs and admission in educational institutions in proportion to the population of different categories in the state were passed by the Chhattisgarh Assembly on Friday, taking the total extent of quota to 76 per cent.

According to the bills, the Scheduled Tribes will get a quota of 32 per cent, Other Backward Classes 27 per cent, Scheduled Castes 13 per cent and four per cent has been provisioned for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in public employment and admissions in educational institutions.

The Assembly also passed a resolution urging the Centre to enlist these bills under the 9th Schedule of the Constitution.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had claimed the state government did not make any effort for two months in this direction after the HCs decision and the bypoll to Bhanupratappur Assembly segment prompted the Bhupesh Baghel-led administration to convene the session to woo tribal voters.

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