Oppn targets govt over SC ruling on quota in promotion in Lok Sabha

The Supreme Court’s ruling that promotion in jobs for OBCs, SCs and STs is not a fundamental right led to commotion in the Lok Sabha, on Monday (February 10), with the opposition pointing fingers at the government and demanding that either a review plea be filed or a legislation be enacted to bring the matter under the ninth schedule.

The government hit back by stating that the opposition is attempting to politicise a sensitive issue. “This is my charge that the Congress is politicising the sensitive issue,”
Defence Minister and deputy leader of the House Rajnath Singh said.

With the union Parliamentary Affairs minister Prahlad Joshi urging the Speaker Om Birla to expunge the remarks made against the government, the latter promised to look into it.

Training his guns on the government, Leader of the Opposition, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, alleged that there has been consistent attacks on the reservation system ever since the Modi-led dispensation assumed office. TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee too spoke on similar lines.

Also read: Supreme Court upholds constitutional validity of SC/ST Amendment Act

Chirag Paswan of the LJP, an ally of the BJP, stated that the verdict is not acceptable to his party and demanded that all matters pertaining to caste reservations be included in the 9th schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Earlier, Rajnath Singh stated that Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot will make a statement in the House on the matter. “The recent Supreme Court ruling is a “sensitive issue” and the Social Justice and Empowerment Minister would make a statement on the subject in the House,” Singh said.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the claim to reservation in promotion for SCs, STs and OBCs in government jobs is not a fundamental right.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met senior ministers on Monday morning in his Parliament House office. Though such meetings are routine during Parliament sessions, Monday’s meet assumes importance in the backdrop of the court ruling. There, however, was no official word on it.

(With inputs from agencies)