The state Assembly on Wednesday witnessed uproar by the opposition BJP over the government’s decision to give 5 per cent discretion to Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to make changes in the reservation roster ahead of the Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) elections scheduled for May.
BJP members raised loud slogans against the government and staged a walkout when they were not allowed to move an adjournment motion for discussion on the issue.
As soon as the House reassembled in the morning, BJP MLA Randhir Sharma tried to move an adjournment motion for discussion on the discretion given to DCs to make changes in the reservation roster for PRIs. However, the Speaker did not allow him to speak, and said that he had already given a ruling that adjournment motions could be moved only after Question Hour.
The BJP members opposed the decision, and when the Speaker asked the Chief Minister to speak, opposition members got agitated and started raising slogans in the House. Amid this, the Speaker adjourned the House for 20 minutes.
After the House reconvened, BJP members were allowed to raise their point. Randhir Sharma sought to move the adjournment motion for discussion on the issue, saying that the government had arbitrarily given powers to Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to change the reservation roster by up to 5 per cent overnight. He said this was against the spirit of the Constitution and said the government should have brought an amendment before the House for discussion by the members first.
He further alleged that the government did not want to hold Panchayat elections and had therefore approached both the High Court and the Supreme Court.
Responding to this, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said the government was planning to hold Panchayat elections in May. He said the 2011 Census remained the available base as the next Census had not yet been conducted. Considering the ground situation, a limited window had been given to DCs, and there was nothing wrong with it. Referring to BJP’s allegations, he said the Modi government itself had taken overnight decisions such as demonetisation.
In his reply, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the government wanted to conduct Panchayat elections in May as school and college examinations were scheduled during March and April, and teachers could not be assigned poll duty during that period.
The Chief Minister said the Constitution gave reservation rights to various categories, but rosters had to be decided as per ground situation. He said population statistics for categories, including Other Backward Classes may have changed since the 2011 Census. So DCs had been given discretion of up to 5 per cent to change the reservation roster accordingly. He said Panchayat polls would be held in May in case there were no legal obstacles.
Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said the Chief Minister wanted to implement a “Sukhu norm” everywhere, which was not justified. He said constitutional provisions could not be violated and it was wrong to give five per cent discretion to the DCs on the reservation roster.
He said Panchayat polls should be held on the basis of the 2011 Census as this was the existing census. “The new Census should be taken into consideration, when it is conducted,” he said.
He further alleged that the government was trying to delay Panchayat polls despite Panchayats being the basic unit of democracy.
After hearing the discussion, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said the replies given by the Chief Minister and the Revenue Minister were satisfactory as they explained the need for granting 5 per cent discretion to DCs. He rejected the BJP’s request to allow an adjournment motion on the issue.
Also read: Top bureaucrats under scanner over land dispute in Himachal
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