E-Paper
No creamy layer Bill coming
The government will not bring a bill to reaffirm reservation for all SCs & STs in the winter session of Parliament beginning today, reports Saroj Nagi.
The government will not bring a bill to reaffirm reservation for all scheduled castes and scheduled tribes following Attorney General Milon Bannerjee's opinion that the Supreme Court has not, in the first place, sought removal of the creamy layer.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister PR Dasmunsi and his junior colleague Suresh Pachauri said the government does not recognise creamy layer among SC/STs, who are given reservation on the basis of social backwardness.
The court's observations on the issue were obiter dicta (opinion of the court) and not part of the judgment, they said ahead of the winter session of Parliament — likely to be dominated by Afzal Guru's death sentence, the sealing drive in Delhi and the quota-in-education and women's reservation bills.
The quota bill is pending with the Standing Committee while opinion is divided on giving one-third seats to women in Lok Sabha and assemblies.
Pachauri quoted from the AG's opinion to make three points. One, that the court, hearing a bunch of petitions, upheld the four amendments relating to SC/ST reservations, including filling backlogs and ascertaining seniority.
Two, the verdicts in the Nagaraj and Indira Shawney cases made it clear the creamy layer among SC/STs would not be affected. Three, a smaller bench of the Supreme Court cannot overrule the verdict of a larger bench.
“The Indira Shawney verdict was delivered by a nine-member bench of the Supreme Court. The recent one was decided by a five-member bench. Besides, the observations in this case were obiter dicta,” said Pachauri, quoting the AG.
Dasmunsi said the creamy layer concept will not be applied to SC/ST promotions or recruitment. “The issue of creamy layer is neither in the Constitution nor in our approach,” he said, denying suggestions that the government is heading for a confrontation with the judiciary.
The uncertainty over key bills like quota-in-education, women's reservation and Lok Pal also extends to some other bills. For instance, the UPA and Left are divided on the Pension bill.
But the Centre hopes to pass the Factories Bill, ST (recognition of forest rights) Bill, Banking regulation Bill and essential commodities Bill — all introduced in earlier sessions. The government plans to introduce 17 bills in all, including those relating to foreign contribution, accountability of judges, child marriage and regulation of cable TV networks.
Email Saroj Nagi: snagi@hindustantimes.com
