Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has welcomed “to a certain extent” the Supreme Court’s Wednesday decision on reservations in job promotions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes employees.
Paving the way for grant of quota for promotions in government jobs to SCs and STs, the five-judge constitution bench said that states do not need to collect quantifiable data on the backwardness of Dalits and tribals for giving them reservations in job promotions.
“It is now the duty of the Centre as well as all the state governments to implement it (quota in promotions) with honesty at the earliest,” Mayawati said here on Wednesday.
“The judgement is welcome to a certain extent since the Supreme Court didn’t impose a restriction in this regard and clearly said that the Centre or state governments can provide reservation if they want.” the BSP chief said while reacting to the apex court judgement.
“There is also no condition for the states to collect the data of backwardness, the provision that was there in 2006,” Mayawati said while calling on the respective governments to implement the Wednesday’s verdict immediately with full honesty and extend the rights of the deprived sections of society.
The Dalit leader said that if the Centre was actually a well-wisher of these sections, it should send a letter to the states and also the departments concerned to take the verdict in a positive manner and implement it.
“At the Centre, and also in most of the states, there are governments which are against this issue and I do not feel the benefits will be extended promptly,” she asserted.
Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mayawati said it was regrettable that the saffron party took no action to bring in a constitutional amendment to overturn the 2006 judgement, despite being in power for over four years at the Centre.
In its 2006 verdict in the M Nagraj case, the apex court had said the states were bound to provide quantifiable data on the backwardness of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the facts about their inadequate representation in government jobs and the overall administrative efficiency, before providing quota in promotions to members of these communities.
The BSP president said it would be still better if the Centre gets the amendment passed to resolve the matter for always, as “our party has been demanding since long, both in and outside Parliament”.
In its unanimous judgement, the five-judge constitution bench of the apex court said there was no need to review the 2006 Nagraj verdict and refused to refer the matter to a seven-judge constitution bench.
The bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said states need not collect quantifiable data on backwardness for giving quota in job promotion to SC/ST employees. The apex court in its 2006 judgement had said: “...state will have to show in each case the existence of compelling reasons, namely backwardness, inadequacy of representation and overall administrative efficiency, before making provision for reservation in promotion.”