Chhattisgarh: CM Baghel welcomes Apex Court's decision to stay HC's order on reservation

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India] May 1 : Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday, welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court to stay the Chhattisgarh High Court's order to declare the state government's move of giving 58 per cent reservation as 'unconstitutional'.

Welcoming the decision, CM Baghel said, "If the governor signs the new bill (pending in Raj Bhavan) then only the right justice will be given. We all welcome the decision of the Supreme Court to stay the order of the High Court on 58 per cent reservation".

"But our struggle against the conspiracy of BJP against the youth of Chhattisgarh will continue. If the governor signs the new bill then only the right justice will be given. We will fight and win," he added.

Reacting on this, BJP national vice-president Raman Singh said, "The BJP government had already implemented 58 per cent reservation after considering it very seriously and today the Supreme Court has cleared it and opened the way for recruitment for young colleagues. The reality of the Congress government, which has become an obstacle in this 58 per cent reservation, is now in front of the youths."

Former Union Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said, "When our government was in Chhattisgarh for 15 years, it has set 32 per cent reservation for tribals while 12 per cent for Scheduled Castes and 14 per cent for OBCs and in this way there was a total of 58 per cent reservation, which has been validated by the Supreme Court."

It may be recalled that a division bench of Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami and Justice P P Sahu in September last year delivered the verdict on petitions challenging the then BJP government's decision to amend the reservation rules in 2012 as it crossed the ceiling limit of 50 per cent.

According to the 2012 amendment, the quota for Scheduled Castes (SCs) was slashed by four per cent to 12 per cent, while reservation for Scheduled Tribes (STs) was increased by 12 per cent from 20 per cent to 32 per cent. The reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was kept unchanged at 14 per cent.

Notably, in December last year, CM Bhupesh Baghel tabled the Chhattisgarh Public Service (Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes Reservation) Amendment Bill and Chhattisgarh Educational Institutions (Reservation in admission) Amendment Bill in the state assembly. The bills were passed after a debate.

According to the bills, Scheduled Tribes will get a quota of 32 per cent, Other Backward Classes 27 per cent, and Scheduled Caste 13 per cent, while 4 per cent has been provisioned for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in public employment and admissions in educational institutions. The bills are pending for assent of the Governor.