Nagaland Assembly ratifies Bill to extend SC/ST reservation

The Nagaland Assembly on Friday ratified the Constitution (126th) Amendment Bill, 2019, which extends quotas for SCs and STs in Lok Sabha and state legislatures by another 10 years.

A special one-day session of the assembly was held to pass a resolution ratifying the Bill cleared by both Houses of Parliament.

After receiving approval of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the Bill needs to be endorsed by 50 per cent of the assemblies before it comes into force.

In his introductory note, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said Nagaland is a direct beneficiary of the Bill as 59 out 60 seats of the Assembly are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and it is only appropriate that the state supports in passing the resolution.

The resolution was ratified by a voice vote in the presence of opposition Naga People's Front (NPF) legislators.

Rio said in the future, the House must deliberate on bringing Dimapur-I Assembly constituency and the lone Lok Sabha seat of the state under ST reserved category.

"Dimapur-I Assembly constituency is unreserved whereas Dimapur was declared a tribal belt in 1979. The Lok Sabha seats in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Outer Manipur are reserved for STs while the one in Nagaland is not," he said.