NEW DELHI: The Government on Tuesday tabled in Lok Sabha the Bill seeking 10 per cent reservation in jobs and educational institutions for economically backward section in the general category. The bill was approved by the Cabinet on Monday and was introduced in Lok Sabha on the last day of the Winter Session.
The bill was tabled in Parliament by Union Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot amid protests by Samajwadi Party. A debate on the same is likely to take place in the House at 2 pm.
The BJP had issued a whip to its MPs, asking them to be present in Parliament on Tuesday as it seeks to push for the passage of the bill. Support of two-thirds of members is necessary for its passage after which it will be sent to the Rajya Sabha.
The Narendra Modi-led NDA government said that it will be making a "constitutional amendment" to implement the reservation. "The Supreme Court has said that in the current constitutional architecture, no reservation can be given to non-educational and socially backward class, even if they are poor. We are coming up with a constitutional amendment as a separate constitutional platform for economically weaker section of the community. Therefore it is a constitutional amendment and not a legal amendment," Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said.
Prasad said the judiciary has never questioned the "power of Parliament" to come up with "reservation for a special objective upon proper reasonable ground".
