M A I N   N E W S

Constitution (Amendment) Bill on quota passed
Tribune News Service and PTI

NEW DELHI, May 10 — The Lok Sabha today passed by a two-thirds majority a Constitution Amendment Bill seeking to end the 50 per cent ceiling on reservation in backlog vacancies provided under an official memorandum of 1997.

The Constitution (Ninetieth Amendment) Bill, 2000, was passed by 418 members in favour and one against it. The House also rejected by voice vote an amendment moved by Mr G.M. Banatwala of the Muslim League.

Replying to a marathon debate on the issue of reservation for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes before the division, the Law and Justice Minister, Mr Ram Jethmalani, assured the House that the Government would make all-out efforts to ensure that validity of over 50 per cent reservation, now under challenge in the Supreme Court, is sustained.

He said steps had been taken to undo the effects of all five circulars passed by the then United Front government between January and August, 1997 following a Supreme Court judgement in the Indira Sawhney case.

The Ninetieth Amendment relates to the circular issued on August 29, 1997, which was issued to put a ceiling of 50 per cent reservation on current as well as backlog vacancies and for discontinuation of the special recruitment drive.

Mr Jethmalani said the government after reviewing the position in view of protests against all five circulars decided to ensure that unfilled vacancies in a year which are reserved for being filled up in that year under Article 16(4) or 16(4A) would be considered as a separate class of vacancies to be filled up in any succeeding year.

Mr Jethmalani said reports had been received from different ministries about compliance of the government’s decision to undo the effects of the offending circulars, and this was being circulated among members of the drafting committee so that appropriate steps could be taken with regard to other circulars.

He expressed satisfaction that steps had been taken to undo a “senseless act of demolition giving unsavoury results”.

Responding to the contention of Mr Banatwala that the Bill was a ‘great national betrayal’, Mr Jethmalani said the word ‘backlog’ was not being added to the main Bill and was part of the statement of objects and reasons appended to it as otherwise the statute could become ambiguous because the law has to apply to the SCs, STs as well as to the OBCs.

The minister told the House that even if the Supreme Court ultimately held that reservation limit should not exceed the 50 per cent, the government would take measures to provide higher percentage of reservation.

The government was also taking steps to undo the adverse effects of four other office memoranda relating to reservation issued in 1997, Minister of State for Personnel Vasundhara Raje, who had moved the Bill, said.

Interrupting Mr Jethmalani’s reply, Congress member Mani Shankar Aiyer wanted the credit for 69 per cent reservation policy to go to the previous Jayalalitha government in Tamil Nadu. The minister conceded after AIADMK leader P.H. Pandian sought to clarify the issue saying that the credit should go to whichever government that had brought forward the policy.