Quota bill to come up in Parliament tomorrow

New Delhi: Moving swiftly to circumvent a Supreme Court order, government on Tuesday cleared a Bill providing for reservation to SCs and STs in promotions in government jobs and it will be brought in Parliament on Wednesday.

The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved a proposal to amend Article 16(4) of the Constitution to remove the term "inadequate representation" to justify reservation in promotion and appointments.

The Cabinet nod clears the decks for introduction of a Constitution Amendment Bill in Parliament, a demand of most of the parties, barring the Samajwadi Party.

The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to amend Article 16(4) of the Constitution to remove the term \"inadequate representation\".

"The Constitution Amendment Bill will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow either at 12 noon or at 2 pm for consideration and passage," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said.

The previous Uttar Pradesh government headed by Mayawati had provided reservation benefits for SCs, STs in promotions to higher posts in government jobs. The Allahabad High Court has struck down the government decision.

The Supreme Court on April 28 has upheld the High Court order and termed the state government decision as unconstitutional and done without any sufficient data.

Subsequently, when the current Monsoon session of Parliament began on August 8, several parties vociferously demanded that a bill be brought to circumvent the SC decision.

In view of these demands, the government promised on August 9 that a Bill would be brought in Parliament.

The Cabinet decision was on Tuesday welcomed by BSP, which has been in the forefront in the demand, but Samajwadi Party criticised it and vowed to oppose.

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