A Bill seeking reservation of four castes including Gujjars under the Special Backward Classes category and the poor among the upper castes was on Monday introduced in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.
Law Minister G S Tiwari introduced the Bill even as the opposition Congress members were holding protest against an ordinance on university teachers’ regularisation.
Congress charge the ruling BJP government with moving the ordinance without divulging the objections and suggestions made by the Governor on the original Bill.
Amid the opposition MLAs shouting anti-government slogans on the teachers’ ordinance matter, Speaker Sumitra Singh took a voice vote of the ruling BJP legislators for introduction of the quota Bill in the House.
The Bill titled the Rajasthan Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Class (OBC), Special Backward Classes, and Economically Backward Classes, 2008, is likely to come up for discussion in the next sitting of the House.
It seeks to provide reservations of seats in favour of SC, ST, OBC, Special Backward Classes, and EBC while making recruitments for state government posts.
After the Gujjars’ month long agitation in May and June which claimed 38 lives in police firing, the BJP government agreed to extend five per cent reservation to Gujjars, Rebari, Nomades (Gardia Lohar), and Banjara, and fourteen per cent to the poor among the Economically Backward Classes (EBC).
Simultaneously, an amendment Bill on Rajasthan Khadi and Gramodyog was tabled by its minister in-charge Digamber Singh.
Later, the Speaker took up obituary references and adjourned the House for the day.
