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The Government tabled a Bill to allow reservation in promotions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government jobs in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday amidst uproar by the opposition parties. The House witnessed a very chaotic situation as the lawmakers belonging to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) clashed with each other soon after the bill was tabled. Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agrawal and BSP leader Avtar Singh had a scuffle inside the house. Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 p.m. amid the ruckus. The quota bill would now be taken up for debate at 2 p.m. Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office V. Narayanasamy, who produced the bill in the Rajya Sabha, earlier urged the opposition parties, in particular the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to assist in the passage of the bill, which seeks to provide Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes quota in promotion in government jobs. Narayanasamy said that the UPA Government would table the bill in the Rajya Sabha today. “The bill was approved by the Cabinet yesterday. Today we will present this bill in the Rajya Sabha. I appeal to the opposition and other major political parties to support the passage of this bill,” said Narayanasamy. “This is a very important bill, where the government and the major political parties are supporting this bill, this move for reservation for SC/ST. Therefore, this is my request to all the political parties to support the bill,” he added. Parliamentary Affair Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal echoed similar sentiments, saying he wanted BJP not to disrupt the proceedings on Wednesday so that the bill can be taken up. “We have already lost three weeks due to disruptions. I would request them to let Parliament function for the last two days so that important issues could be taken up,” he said. The proposed Bill approved by the Union Cabinet on Tuesday seeks to provide a reserved jobs quota for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), and seeks to amend at least four articles of the Constitution to enable the government to provide a quota in promotions to SC/STs. It seeks to remove the term inadequate representation, mentioned in Article 16(4) to justify reservation in promotion and appointments, and also delink the term efficiency of administration from the claims of SCs/STs for jobs and promotions, mentioned in Article 335. Changes are also likely to be made in articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution, following the advice of the government's top law officer, Attorney General, G.E. Vahanvati, on the issue.

BSP, SP MPs clash as SC/ST quota Bill is tabled in Rajya Sabha