With promotion quota, BJP looks to widen base

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 31

The acceptance of the P. Raghvendra Rao Committee report by the Haryana Cabinet yesterday paving the way for quota in promotions for Scheduled Caste (SC) employees seems to more of a political decision aimed at wooing the Dalit community with a view to widen the BJP base in the Jat-dominated state.

The Khattar Government, which does not see eye to eye with state government employees on several issues — especially after it rolled back retirement age from 60 to 58 years and put ‘on hold’ Punjab pattern pay scales for Haryana employees — was in search of a way out to mollify state government employees. The Rao committee report provided the perfect opportunity to woo a section of the employees.

In the Assembly election, the BJP reportedly drew large support from non-Jat votes. However, the Dalit voters reportedly did not go with the BJP and chose either the Congress or the INLD. The current move to provide quota in promotions is seen as an attempt to woo the influential Dalit community in the state.

In fact, a senior BJP functionary told The Tribune that the decision would kill two birds with one stone. One, the quota for SC employees is a Constitutional requirement that the BJP would anyway have to comply with. Second, the Khattar Government’s gesture would send the right signal to the community as a potential vote back in the years to come, he asserted.

Yesterday, the Haryana Cabinet accepted the report submitted by a committee constituted to assess the backwardness and inadequacy of representation of SCs in promotion in government service paving the way for their reservation in promotions.

The committee concluded there was inadequate representation of SCs as compared to their proportional representation in the total population of the state at almost all levels of service and the administrative efficiency was not likely to be affected by promotions in service.

Meanwhile, general secretary of the Sarv Karamchari Sangh Subhash Lamba welcomed the government decision saying it would fulfill the constitutional requirements. He, however, demanded a sympathetic view regarding the pay anomalies and promotional avenues for the employees, including the general category employees, after the implementation of decision.

Wooing the Dalits 

• The BJP reportedly drew large support from non-Jats in the Assembly election
• However, the Dalit voters reportedly did not go with the BJP and opted for either the Congress or the INLD
• Implementation of the P. Raghvendra Rao panel report is seen as an attempt to woo the influential community

Two birds, one stone  

• Quota for Scheduled Caste employees is a Constitutional requirement that the BJP would anyway have to comply with
• The Khattar Government's gesture would send the right signal to the Dalit community that it sees as a potential vote bank