BSP chief Mayawati for separate bill for promotion quota to backwards

New Delhi: Seeking to project the image that her party's base was not limited to Scheduled Castes, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has said that she is willing to support a separate bill to provide reservation in promotion to backwards in government jobs. Favouring early implementation of Sachar Committee recommendations, Mayawati also sought to target arch rival Samajwadi Party by claiming that the Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh has failed to implement the poll promise of 18 per cent reservation for Muslims in government jobs.

During the just-concluded Winter Session of Parliament, SP had raised the issue of providing reservation for OBCs its core vote base - and Muslims in government job promotions on the lines of a bill which gives such benefits to SCs and STs. "The present constitutional amendment bill is necessary as the Supreme Court had quashed a government policy to provide reservation in promotion to SC and ST government employees.

"We support a separate bill to grant similar benefits to backwards," Mayawati said. She said despite being in power for nine months now, the UP government has not implemented its poll manifesto of providing 18 per cent reservation for Muslims in education and government jobs.

Mayawati also targeted SP by claiming it has failed to implement 18 per cent reservation for Muslims in UP.

Alleging that the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party was not interested in providing benefits to the upper castes, she said her government had lifted a ban imposed by the SP government on government jobs to the upper castes. "We believe in 'sarva samaj'...We also favour reservation for poor people belonging to upper castes."

Attacking the UP Chief Minister, the former state Chief Minister said the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh is deteriorating under SP rule. "These are not my observations. But, wherever I meet people they say the law and order is bad at all levels. Forget justice, even police does not register our cases," she said.

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