Govt extends Rajya Sabha session till Wednesday for passage of Reservation bill

The government has extended the Winter session of the Rajya Sabha by a day till Wednesday to push the passage of the Constitutional amendment bill that will allow 10 per cent reservation for ‘economically backward’ upper castes in government services and admission to higher educational institutions.

The government has extended the Winter session of the Rajya Sabha by a day till Wednesday to push the passage of the Constitutional amendment bill that will allow 10 per cent reservation for ‘economically backward’ upper castes in government services and admission to higher educational institutions.

The move will require amending Article 16 of the Constitution to provide for reservation for economically weaker sections. The winter session of Parliament begun on December 11 and was to end on Tuesday.

With just a day left for the Winter session of the Parliament to end, Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has agreed to the government’s request and extended the proceedings by a day. So far, 16 bills have been passed by both the Houses of the Parliament.

Both the BJP and Congress have issued a whip to party MPs to be present in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The bill is expected to witness a smooth sailing in the Lok Sabha as the Congress has extended its support to the bill even though it questioned the timing of the government’s decision, terming it as an “election gimmick” to fool people. The bill will be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

The bill is required as the Constitution does not provide for reservation on the ground of economic conditions. Unlike the reservation for SC/ST/OBCs, caste is not going to be a criterion for eligibility to the reservation under this new provision.

The proposed reservation will be over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation enjoyed by the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and the Other Backward Classes.

Sources revealed that the new category will be defined as families with income (includes agricultural income as well as from profession) below Rs 8 lakh per annum, possessing agricultural land below five acre and residential house below 1,000 square feet. As for urban areas, those with residential plot below 100 yards in notified municipality or residential plot below 200 yards in the non-notified municipal area.

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