Cabinet clears reservation in promotions for SC/STs, Mulayam's party opposed

Cabinet clears reservation in promotions for SC/STs, Mulayam's party opposed

New Delhi: The cabinet has cleared a proposal to amend the constitution to allow reservations in job promotions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The proposal will now be sent to a parliamentary committee for review, before being put to a vote. The amendment will enable state governments to provide reservation for promotion in jobs. 

Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party has vowed to oppose the bill, which the government hopes to introduce in parliament before the current session ends this week.  

Attorney General GE Vahanvati has warned the government that  any law on the reservations issue should be framed with extreme caution because it is likely to be legally challenged.

Amending the constitution has become necessary after the Supreme Court in April nullified  then chief minister Mayawati's s decision to provide reservation for SC/STs in promotion to higher posts in government departments.  She said today that she hopes that all parties will cooperate to allow a discussion and vote on the bill.  Parliament has not been functioning because of daily disruptions by the BJP, which is demanding the PM's resignation in connection with a coal scandal.

In August, the PM held an all-party meeting to gauge whether most parties would support a constitutional amendment.  The  Samajwadi Party had then said it will oppose any proposal that does not extend benefits of reservation to Other Backward Castes (OBCs).