Selja slams Haryana Govt over reservation notification

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 5

The president of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC), Kumari Selja, today said the Haryana Government was depriving the people of backward classes from reservation.

“The Backward Classes Commission has expressed displeasure and stated that adding salary and agricultural income in the creamy layer criteria is wrong,” she said.

Selja said the Congress would not allow the conspiracy of the BJP government against the backward classes to succeed under any circumstances.

In a statement issued today, she said the BJP and RSS were constantly conspiring to end the reservation system. “Efforts are being made to snatch the rights of the backward class people,” she added.

She said that on August 24 last year, the Supreme Court had quashed the notifications issued by the Haryana Government on August 17, 2016, and August 28, 2018, regarding the creamy layer criteria and termed them as unconstitutional.

Selja said that on November 17, the state government had issued a revised notification and fixed the limit of creamy layer at Rs 6 lakh.

“This has taken away the right of reservation for children of peons, D-category soldiers, farmers and skilled workers. It is not only against the law, but also differs from the norms laid down by the Centre on the guidelines of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Indra Sawhney case, according to which, the salary of employees belonging to socially backward classes and agricultural income of farmers is not included in the annual income.”

Kumari Selja said the Central Government was considering those with an annual income of less than Rs 8 lakh as financially weak, but in Haryana, the gross annual income for backward classes had been fixed at only Rs 6 lakh.

Apart from this, the children of existing A and B category officers had been denied the right of reservation under this new notification, she added.

Will not let BJP conspire

The Congress will not allow the conspiracy of the BJP government against the backward classes to succeed under any circumstances. — Kumari Selja, HPCC chief