Parliament witnessed usual scenes of uproar and adjournment on
Friday, this time over a statement made by sports minister Mr Ajay Maken
during an interview to a private news channel. The minister had said
that India would target 25 medals at the 2020 Olympics. A Rajya Sabha
member strongly criticised the minister for failing to specify how many
of these medals would be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes. The former chief minister of a populous north Indian state
launched a scathing attack on the minister accusing him of turning a
blind eye to the plight of the oppressed people.
The leader who, according to her opponents, has metamorphosed from ‘Dalit ki beti’ to ‘Daulat ki beti’ over the past years, said in Parliament: “I strongly condemn the irresponsible statement made by the sports minister. He has deliberately avoided talking about ensuring adequate representation of the oppressed people among the Indian Olympic medal winners. His skirting the issue clearly exposes his mala fide intent. Fifteen per cent of the members of the Indian contingent must belong to the Scheduled Castes and another 7.5 per cent must be from the Scheduled Tribes. The same proportion must be maintained among medal winners too. The government must immediately introduce a Bill to this effect in this session of Parliament.”
MPs cutting across party lines voiced their support for the demand. Chaos prevailed as members belonging to different parties shouted slogans and stormed the Well of the House. A former chief minister of Bihar present in the House said it was not enough to merely ensure representation of the SCs and STs. He demanded a quota for the Other Backward Castes in addition to the SC/ST reservation. A senior minister of the ruling party suggested the inclusion of a provision for the reservation of 4.5 per cent for the minority community within the quota for OBCs. A major Opposition party opposed this statement from the minister saying that reservation on the basis of religion was unconstitutional and that it would never support such a move. Though the members created ruckus, there was unanimous agreement among the MPs that henceforth, there ought to be reservation for SC/ST/OBCs in the Indian Olympic contingent and among the medal winners.
The minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office said in the Rajya Sabha that a Bill would be brought in this regard on 22 August after an all-party meeting that would discuss the issue on 21 August. “The Prime Minister will call a meeting of leaders of all political parties on 21st of this month to discuss the issue of SC/ST/OBC reservation. This has been the demand of the honourable members. On 22 August, the government will be able to bring the Bill in the House,” he said. Earlier, the Prime Minister had assured leaders of different political parties in the house that their just demands would be met. The Speaker of the House had to adjourn proceedings following the uproar.
Link: http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=420161&catid=39
The leader who, according to her opponents, has metamorphosed from ‘Dalit ki beti’ to ‘Daulat ki beti’ over the past years, said in Parliament: “I strongly condemn the irresponsible statement made by the sports minister. He has deliberately avoided talking about ensuring adequate representation of the oppressed people among the Indian Olympic medal winners. His skirting the issue clearly exposes his mala fide intent. Fifteen per cent of the members of the Indian contingent must belong to the Scheduled Castes and another 7.5 per cent must be from the Scheduled Tribes. The same proportion must be maintained among medal winners too. The government must immediately introduce a Bill to this effect in this session of Parliament.”
MPs cutting across party lines voiced their support for the demand. Chaos prevailed as members belonging to different parties shouted slogans and stormed the Well of the House. A former chief minister of Bihar present in the House said it was not enough to merely ensure representation of the SCs and STs. He demanded a quota for the Other Backward Castes in addition to the SC/ST reservation. A senior minister of the ruling party suggested the inclusion of a provision for the reservation of 4.5 per cent for the minority community within the quota for OBCs. A major Opposition party opposed this statement from the minister saying that reservation on the basis of religion was unconstitutional and that it would never support such a move. Though the members created ruckus, there was unanimous agreement among the MPs that henceforth, there ought to be reservation for SC/ST/OBCs in the Indian Olympic contingent and among the medal winners.
The minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office said in the Rajya Sabha that a Bill would be brought in this regard on 22 August after an all-party meeting that would discuss the issue on 21 August. “The Prime Minister will call a meeting of leaders of all political parties on 21st of this month to discuss the issue of SC/ST/OBC reservation. This has been the demand of the honourable members. On 22 August, the government will be able to bring the Bill in the House,” he said. Earlier, the Prime Minister had assured leaders of different political parties in the house that their just demands would be met. The Speaker of the House had to adjourn proceedings following the uproar.
Link: http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=420161&catid=39
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