YSR Cong member seeks voting on pvt members Bill on OBCs

Rajya Sabha Friday witnessed a peculiar situation when V Vijaysai Reddy of the YSR Congress sought voting on a private member's bill seeking reservation for OBCs in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

The government insisted that voting cannot take place in absence of adequate number of members needed for a constituion amendment bill.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said since the Bill seeks to amend the constitution, it requires a majority of 2/3rd members present and voting.

After heated exchanges between the treasury and the opposition, Reddy, who was unwilling to withdraw the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2018 (insertion of new articles 330A and 332A) ultimately staged a walkout.

He said the rules of the House have not been followed and it is "not justified".

The Bill proposes to ensure a proportionate representation to OBCs in representative bodies -- House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies of the State and cutting across party lines, most Rajya Sabha members who participated in the debate, barring a few, supported the private member's bill.

After the debate, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, in his reply said the founders of the constitution had laid down reservation provisions for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes after much deliberations and had empowered citizens of the nation through the right and power to vote.

He said that founders of the constitution like Baba Saheb Ambedkar had defined reservation after much deliberation and till 2026 census, seats cannot increase and "if more reservation is given, you will deprive SC/ST reservation."