The Bihar assembly on Thursday approved a hike in quotas for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Extremely Backward Classes and Other Backward Classes from the existing 50 per cent to 65 per cent.
Charges and counter-charges flew thick and fast minutes after the controversy in the Lok Sabha, when Samajwadi Party member Yashvir Singh snatched the copy of quota in promotion bill from Union minister V Narayansamy and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi intervened to stop him.
"We have given time to the Haryana government to bring and pass the Jat reservation Bill by March 31 (when the ongoing Budget session ends)," Malik told media persons.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Monday announced he was withdrawing his 17-day-old fast undertaken over the Maratha quota issue, but insisted he would continue his agitation until the Maharashtra government starts issuing Kunbi caste certificates to extended family members of people already having such documents, thereby allowing them to avail of reservation benefits.
Gandhi also assured support of her party to the legislation, which she said would be a "significant" step forward in the empowerment of women.
Udit Raj, chairman of Indian Justice Party and president of the All India Confederation of SC/ST, hailed the United Progressive Alliance government's move to pass a constitutional amendment bill for promotion of for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in both the government and private sectors. He regretted that the Bill could not be passed in the Parliament following agitation from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Terming the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government as 'anti-Dalit', the Bahujan Samaj Party on Friday demanded that a special session of Parliament should be called in August to clear the Bill for reservation in promotions for Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe employees.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday threw its weight behind the Women's Reservation Bill, saying the quota for women in Parliament and state assemblies is an idea whose time has come.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move to get reservation for women in legislatures promises to shape the political discourse ahead of key state polls and Lok Sabha elections, and a parliamentary approval to the long-contested proposal will be used by the Bharatiya Janata Party to burnish his credentials as a decisive leader.
Speaking in the House on Tuesday, he stressed that two-third of the MPs and MLAs will lose interest in nursing and serving their constituencies as they stand no chance of second term and that include all women representatives.
The 71-MP strong ruling Congress is determined to push ahead with the Constitution amendment bill on Monday in the Rajya Sabha, which has an effective strength of 233, coinciding with the International Women's Day.
The Samajwadi Party on Sunday pointedly accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government of attempting to 'blackmail' party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav , who had earlier threatened to withdraw his party's support to the ruling coalition.
Jarange said he had decided to call off the fast keeping in mind the sentiments of the Maratha community.
Parliamentary Affair Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said he wanted the BJP not to disrupt the proceedings today so that the bill can be taken up. "We have already lost three weeks due to disruptions. I would request them to let Parliament function for last two days so that important issues could be taken up," he said
The move is apparently aimed at introducing the Bill before the end of the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.
An assurance to this effect was given by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to a delegation of Women PowerConnect, which met him in New Delhi recently.
The NDA in Bihar, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, strategically countered the Mahagathbandan's moves by implementing similar policies and announcements, effectively neutralising the MGB campaign promises and maintaining their political advantage.
Lakhs of employees of the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday took out rallies and staged 'dharna' across state protesting against the bill seeking to provide reservation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in promotion in government jobs.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and Samajwadi Party on Thursday blocked in the Lok Sabha a bill to provide reservation for SCs and STs in government job promotions, delaying the measure which was seen as quid pro quo for Bahujan Samaj Party's support to United Progressive Alliance on Foreign Direct Investment in retail.
The Samajwadi Party on Monday said it will continue to stall Rajya Sabha proceedings in case the bill providing for reservation to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes in promotion in government job is passed. "We will disrupt the House and not allow it to function if the bill (for reservation to SC/ST in job promotions) is passed. We will continue to oppose the bill and we are ready for suspension," said SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav.
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed a Bill providing 4% reservation for Muslims in public contracts, sparking protests from the opposition BJP. The Bill, which amends the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act, aims to increase Muslim participation in government contracts valued up to Rs 2 crore for civil works and Rs 1 crore for goods and services. The BJP criticized the move as unconstitutional and vowed to challenge it in court.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar denied on Monday making any comments regarding changing the Constitution to accommodate four per cent reservation for Muslims in the state. He claimed he was "misquoted" and warned of moving a breach of privilege motion. Shivakumar's remarks came after the BJP forced repeated adjournments in the Lok Sabha over his alleged comments on the matter. The BJP has accused Shivakumar of seeking to change the Constitution for political gain, highlighting the ongoing controversy surrounding reservation policies in India.
The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill, 2020 provides the quota for local people in private sector jobs that offer a salary of less than Rs 50,000 a month.
The decision by SP, with 21 members in Lok Sabha, and RJD with four will, however, have no impact on the stability of the UPA government. The SP and the RJD were outside supporters of the government.
"The government should have a roadmap and strategy for passing such an important bill. We are not in favour of passing such a vital bill without a discussion. It (a discussion) is a requirement for a Constitutional Amendment as the basic structure of the Constitution will change," Deputy Leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha S S Ahluwalia said.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday expressed his regret that the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota was not provided under the Bill brought by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2010.
Apparently addressing concerns that it was encroaching into parliamentary territory, the Supreme Court has said the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the OBC reservation bill will be placed before it after it is tabled in the House.
With the Cabinet clearing a bill to provide reservation in promotion to Scheduled Caste /Scheduled Tribes in government jobs, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Tuesday met top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders to seek their support for its passage in the current session of Parliament.
At the state level, Pawar appealed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the quota dispute.
He claimed that out of 90 secretaries of the government of India, only three are from the Other Backward Classes and control only five per cent of the Budget, which he said was an "insult" to the backward classes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Congress of seeking to divide women in the name of caste and by spreading lies, as he launched a fierce counter-attack on the party over its demand of OBC sub-quota in women's reservation in legislatures.
WATCH! All the action in Rajya Sabha
He also sought framing of a law to identify Kunbis as Marathas, and warned of fielding candidates from all 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming state polls if his demands were not approved.
Trump's proposed policy limits undergraduates from any one country to 5% at select top US universities, raising concerns for Indian aspirants eyeing elite colleges.
UPA managers say cooling of tempers, passage of Budget are bigger priorities.
The Maharashtra cabinet had approved the two bills on Friday and they were introduced in the assembly and later in the Council for passage.
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has given his assent to a Bill envisaging 7.5 per cent reservation to government school students who have cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test in admission to medical courses.
Ramesh said the current limit of 50 percent is not explicitly mandated by the Constitution, but has been decided through various Supreme Court decisions.
He said Congress would push Madhya Pradesh back into the BIMARU (laggard) category if given an opportunity again.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, who virtually arm-twisted the government to bring the quota bill for SC/STs, on Thursday, slammed the Congress for not doing any such thing because of which condition of these communities deteriorated.
