Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday said the state government has submitted a reply to queries raised by Governor Anusuiya Uikey on two amendment bills to hike the overall reservation in the state to 76 per cent.
Talking to reporters here, Baghel said the governor should now give her assent to the bills as she had said she will do it after the state government submits replies to her queries.
The state Assembly on December 2 passed the Chhattisgarh Public Service (Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes Reservation) Amendment Bill and the Chhattisgarh Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Amendment Bill, pertaining to quota in government jobs and admission in educational institutions in proportion to the population of different categories in the state.
According to the bills, the Scheduled Tribes will get a quota of 32 per cent, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) 27 per cent, Scheduled Castes 13 per cent, and four per cent has been provisioned for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in government jobs and admissions in educational institutions.
The bills were pending for assent with the governor who had sought details on 10 points from the Congress-led state government before giving her approval.
Asked about it, Baghel said, “The reply has been sent to the governor. There is no such arrangement in the Constitution, but the governor had sought details from departments and the answer has been submitted. Now she should give her assent to the bills.”
The 10 queries raised by the governor included details of the quantitative data related to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities if collected, details of the extraordinary situation that compelled the state government to hike reservation beyond 50 per cent ceiling and report of the Quantifiable Data Commission (constituted by the state government for a survey of OBC and EWS population in the state).
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Brijmohan Agrawal said the state government should make public its reply to the governor on the reservation bills.
The issue of reservation flared up after the Chhattisgarh High Court in September this year set aside the Raman Singh-headed state government's 2012 order to raise the quota to 58 per cent in government jobs and admissions in educational institutions, observing that reservation exceeding the 50 per cent ceiling was unconstitutional.
The decision had halted the recruitment process for government jobs, triggering a massive protest particularly by tribals whose quota came down to 20 per cent from 32 per cent following the orders.
-With PTI Input
