Rajya Sabha passes upper caste Reservation Bill with 165 ‘ayes’

January 9: Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament passed the Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill, 2019 with 165 ‘ayes’. The voting took place at around 10 PM on Wednesday. Rajya Sabha witnessed a day long debate on this issue accompanied by adjournment of the House twice in the day.  The bill will provide reservation for economically weaker section of the society.

Lok Sabha on Tuesday has already passed the Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill 2019 to provide 10 per cent reservation in jobs and educational institutions to economically backward section in the general category. The bill was passed with 323 votes in favour and 03 against the bill.

After the historic passage of The Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill, 2019 in both the Houses of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dubbed it as a victory for social justice. “It ensures a wider canvas for our Yuva Shakti to showcase their prowess and contribute towards India’s transformation,” PM Modi said.

The proceedings of the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday began among a ruckus. Opposition cried foul over extension of Winter session as Rajya Sabha proceedings begin. TMC said that extension of House is illegal. Rajya Sabha proceedings was adjourned till 1200 hrs following ruckus by opposition parties led by Congress over the Citizenship Amendment Bill. Anand Sharma of Congress said the entire North-East is on fire as the legislation would effect the security and safety of the region. He demanded that the Home Minister should come and make a statement.

After the House was resumed Government introduced in Rajya Sabha a Constitutional Amendment Bill to give 10% quota to upper caste poor in jobs and education. CPI leader D Raja says that the quota bill needs to go to select committee first before it comes up for discussion in Rajya Sabha. The House was again adjourned till 2 pm amid uproar.

Meanwhile, Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress attacked the Centre’s pre-poll reservation bill on Wednesday labelling it as an ‘acknowledgement of guilt’. BJD MP Prasanna Acharya argued in the Rajya Sabha that the Centre’s reservation bill may not stand the scrutiny of the law. While the JD (U) has extended its support to the Quota bill, the TDP argues that the bill should have been referred to a Select Committee.

CPI(M) MP Elamaram Kareem charged the BJP of robbing the country of one crore jobs during demonetisation. Congress leader Kabil Sibal said, “Is there any data to show how many OBC, SC, ST is there in the states. So, what is the data to show how many people have homes under 1000 sq ft or have an annual income below 8 lakhs per annum?”

Are you eligible:

• For those who earn less than Rs 8 lakh annually.
• For those who have agriculture land below five acres.
• For those who avail the quota, a residential house should be below 1,000 square feet.
• The residential plot should be below 109 yards in a notified municipality.
• The residential plot should be below 209 yards in a non-notified municipality area