Parliament passes bill to extend SC, ST reservation in legislatures by 10 years

Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed a Constitution amendment bill to extend reservation given to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Lok Sabha and state assemblies. by 10 years.

The Constitution (126th Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed by Lok Sabha on Tuesday that provides to further amend Article 334 of the Constitution.

Speaking in Lok Sabha, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said that the BJP was fully committed to reservation for these sections and it will never be removed.

Interestingly, the proposed amendment does away with the reservation provided to the Anglo Indian community in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures.

"Although SCs and STs have made considerable progress in the last 70 years, the reasons which weighed with the constituent assembly in making provisions with regard to the aforesaid reservation of seats have not yet ceased to exist. Therefore, with a view to retaining the inclusive character as envisioned by the founding fathers of the Constitution, it is proposed to continue the reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes for another 10 years, that is up to 25 January 2030," the proposed Bill states.

The need for bringing in the Bill was felt as the current reservation provision ends on January 26, 2020, and the government wants to get the approval of Parliament ahead of the deadline.

The move by the Narendra Modi government is significant as the BJP is often portrayed as being anti-reservation. Sources stated that this step is expected to send across a message that the Narendra Modi government is with the marginalised sections of the society.