Gujarat House passes Bill on SC/ST quota in LS, Assemblies

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat assembly on Friday ratified a Constitution amendment bill passed by Parliament to extend reservation to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Lok Sabha and

state assemblies by another 10 years.

The resolution seeking the nod of the house for the bill was presented by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and unanimously passed with opposition Congress supporting it at a special session of the assembly.

The special session was convened to approve the Constitution (126th) Amendment Bill passed by both houses of Parliament last month.

As per provisions, at least 50 per cent of state assemblies need to ratify a Constitution amendment bill before it is sent for presidential assent.

"This bill would help us in realising Dr B R Ambedkar's dream of achieving social equality and development of backward communities," Rupani said. "Even after over 70 years of independence, it's rare to see a case where an SC/ST candidate fights from a general category seat and gets elected.

"However, a tribal candidate has been winning from the Bharuch Lok Sabha (unreserved) seat of Gujarat since long.

This is a matter of pride and happiness for us," he said while tabling the resolution.

Shailesh Parmar (Congress) praised Ambedkar for introducing the reservation system for SC/ST members in the Lok Sabha and assemblies.