Govt approves proposal to extend SC/ST reservation in legislature for another 10 yrs
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 4
The government on Wednesday approved a proposal to extend reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for another 10 years, but is learnt to have done away with a similar quota for the Anglo-Indian community.
Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said, the reservation for these categories in the Lok Sabha and assemblies was to expire on January 25, 2020. The government will bring a Bill to extend the reservation till January 25, 2030 in the ongoing winter session, he added.
Sources aware of the provisions said the reservation for members of the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha has been done away with “for the time being”. They said, the government was of the view that the community is doing well and does not need reservation in the legislature and if at a later stage a need is felt the same could be reconsidered.
When asked whether reservation for the Anglo-Indian community has also been extended, Javadekar said, once the Bill is introduced, the details will be known.
The minister said there are 84 members from the Scheduled Caste and 47 from the Scheduled Tribe communities in Parliament. In state assemblies across India, there are 614 SC members and 554 ST members.
As of today, there is a provision to nominate two members of the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha but they have not yet been nominated, according to Lok Sabha website. Including the Speaker, the Lok Sabha has 543 members as on December 4.
The reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the legislature is carried out through constitutional amendments, but similar reservation in jobs for these categories of people is decided by the respective state governments, sources said.
