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Rajasthan mulls quota for locals in government jobs
The Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government appears to have taken a cue from the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh’s dispensation and wants to give priority to local youths in public sector jobs
The Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government appears to have taken a cue from the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh’s dispensation and wants to give priority to local youths in public sector jobs.
The government would bring a proposal to this effect before the state cabinet soon, said a minister.
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Unlike MP, which has announced reservation for local youths in government jobs, Rajasthan is still exploring the legal options.
“An amendment to the law will be brought before the cabinet soon. Chief Minister Gehlot has given directions regarding this to the officials,” said the minister, who is familiar with the development, requesting anonymity.
The CM has asked the departments of personnel, administrative reforms and law to examine and explore the possibilities of reserving government jobs for the state’s youths in a bid to give the latter maximum employment opportunities.
The minister said Gehlot issued directions in this regard during a recent education department review meeting.
He hoped the new model is likely to be introduced during the upcoming Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers (REET). The desert state plans to hire 31,000 grade-III teachers.
In mid-August, MP CM Chouhan had announced that government jobs in the state would be reserved for local youths and necessary legal provisions would be made for their safeguard.
In July 2019, the Andhra Pradesh (AP) government had passed a law making it mandatory for the private sector to hire 75% of local youths.
Similarly, the Maharashtra and Haryana governments had also proposed to reserve up to 70% of private sector jobs for local youths.
The Rajasthan government had started an exercise last year to introduce a law to reserve 75% of private sector jobs for local youths. The state government had also sought feedback from the Rajasthan Skill and Livelihood Development Corporation (RSLDC); the labour and industry department, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Federation of Rajasthan Trade and Industry (FORTI), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) etc on its proposal.
Shiv Kumar Sharma, a former judge of the Rajasthan high court (HC), said reservation in jobs on the basis of region is unconstitutional.
“No reservation can be based on region. Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution states that reservation cannot be based on caste, sect and region. If some states don’t give jobs to candidates from other states, the move can be challenged in a court of law,” he said.
He suggested that if the state wants to encourage locals, then it is at liberty to adopt other measures such as holding examinations or conducting interviews related to Rajasthan, but reserving jobs for local youths is unconstitutional.
Sharma cited Article 15 of the Constitution that prohibits discrimination on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth (region). While Article 16 prescribes for equal opportunity for all citizens in the matter of public employment.
Political analyst Narayan Bareth said many states have started reserving jobs for local youths in the past five-odd years.
“When political parties do not have a development model they take refuge in the name of caste, region etc. Many states are reserving jobs for local youths as part of their political agenda,” he said.
Mukesh Pareek, a spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) state unit, said the Gehlot government should come up with viable alternatives for the state’s unemployed youths. “If other states are giving priority to local youths, then Rajasthan should also follow suit,” he said.
