Big ruckus in Lok Sabha over SC’s quota ruling

New Delhi: The Supreme Court’s last week verdict on reservation in jobs and promotions for SCs and STs created pandemonium in the Lok Sabha on Monday with entire opposition blaming the Centre for “snatching” the rights of the backward community and the government hitting back by accusing opponents of spreading rumour.

Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury raised the issue during Zero Hour attacking the government on what he said “snatching the rights of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes” and that they are “talking about Manuwad instead of nationalism”.

“There has been discrimination against the SCs and STs for centuries. After Independence, the government decided to give them rights. What happened to this government this time? Why the government is trying to take away the rights of SCs and STs,” Chowdhury asked.

Chowdhury had also raised the issue during the Question Hour but then he was not allowed to take up the matter.

Rejecting the allegation of the Congress, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said, “It was the Supreme Court’s judgment and the government has nothing to do with that.”

Joshi alleged that it was the Congress government in 2012 when the matter came in the court.

BJP’s ally Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) also raised the issue in the Lok Sabha with its leader Chirag Paswan saying “reservation is the constitutional right of SCs and STs”, and our party “dismisses the February 7 verdict of the Supreme Court” which says that reservation is not the fundamental right of the community.

“I request the government to consider the matter and put the SC/ST reservation under 9th Schedule of the Constitution so that the matters related to it being raised from time to time should stop permanently.”

DMK’s A. Raja hit out at the government, saying “since it has come into power there has been onslaught on the rights of SCs/STs and suggested for a review petition and bringing the law in the 9th Schedule.

Janata Dal (United) leader Rajiv Ranjan said there should not be a politics on the issue when the whole house has similar opinion for the rights of SCs/STs and that “rumour” is being spread on Supreme Court’s ruling by the opposition.

Bahujan Samajwadi Party’s Ritesh Pandey attacked the government calling it anti-Dalits.

Calling the Supreme Court’s verdict “unfortunate”, Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel demanded central government’s quick interference in the apex court’s ruling to protect the rights of deprived sections of the society and that “there should be a representative of SCs/STs in the top court”.

Nationalist Congress Party’s MP Supriya Sule requested the government to intervene into the matter while Communist Party of India (Marxist) demanded that the government should file a review petition in the court.

Meanwhile, Deputy Leader of House Rajnath Singh informed that the government has nothing to do with the matter because the decision was taken by the Supreme Court.

In its verdict delivered on February 7 (Friday) on appeals on reservations for SC/ST community members in promotions to Assistant Engineer (Civil) posts in the Public Works Department of the Uttarakhand government, the Supreme Court said that the quotas and reservations for promotions for government jobs is not a fundamental right.

The top court said it could not compel states to provide quotas and states could not be forced to make such provisions without data showing imbalance in representation of certain communities in public service. The apex court overturned a 2012 ruling by the Uttarakhand High Court which directed the state to provide quotas to specified communities.

IANS