State government has called the special session on December 1 and 2 to present a new bill on reservation and settle the ST quota issue.
However, opposition BJP is set to make the session count for it ahead of Bhanupratappur by-poll.
Raipur
Two-day special session of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly will commence on Thursday to table the new reservation bill. Chhattisgarh cabinet last week approved a draft taking the overall quota upto 76 per cent including 32% for STs, 27% for OBCs, 13% for SCs and four% for economically weaker sections (EWS) in the general categories.
Governor Anusuiya Uikey had also gave a go ahead to the proposal to call a special session of the Chhattisgarh Assembly on December 1 and 2 to hike the tribal quota from 20 per cent to 32 per centafter a Chhattisgarh High Court order in October reduced the quota to 20 per cent from 32 per cent.
The government had also written letter to the chief minister, Bhupesh Baghel, seeking speedy disposal of the ongoing disputes over the ST reservation after tribals and several political groups took to streets blaming the state government for the loss in ST quota. Several tribal organization under their umbrella organization Sarva Adivasi Samaj too staged demonstrations demanding 32 per cent reservation for STs as per their population ratio in the state.
Opposition BJP also cornered the state government over the issue and included the issue in its agenda for the Bhanupratappur byelection slated for December 5.
Even as chief minister Baghel has assured tribal communities that his government was making every possible effort to provide them the benefit of 32 percent quota, opposition BJP said the state government’s claim will not stand when it comes to a legal battle. The Congress government could have saved the 32 per cent quota of STs in the court, but the government did not put the facts strongly in the court, alleged the BJP.
It may be recalled, the High Court in October set aside the government’s 2012 order to raise the quota to 58 percent in government jobs and admissions in educational institutions and held that reservation exceeding the 50 percent ceiling was unconstitutional. After which the reservation for tribal communities fell to 20 per cent from 32 per cent.
As the special session of the assembly is set to begin on Thursday, it is likely to be a stormy in view of the timing of the session. The BJP has already objected to the session in view of by-poll on December 5 in Bhanupratappur which is lying vacant after the death of deputy speaker of the assembly Manoj Mandavi. Moreover, Jharkhand police were camping in Kanker for last two-three days to arrest BJP candidate for the by-poll Bramhanand Netam for his alleged role in a gang-rape of a minor. The case is registered in Telco police station of Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, under POCSO Act in 2019.
