Muslim quota Bill to take time

Get more representations, panel told

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has reportedly directed the BC Commission to tour more districts and collect representations from the people before submitting its report on the 12 per cent Muslim reservations.

This is being seen as an attempt to buy time before bringing in Legislation. It also means a temporary halt to the government’s efforts to introduce the Muslim Reservation Bill in the forthcoming Budget session.

The CM, while replying to a debate on the Muslim quota Bill the Winter session, had announced that the Bill would be tabled in the Budget session.

However, sources said that Mr Rao has asked the BC Commission, the statutory body for recommending increase or decrease of reservations to particular sections, to conduct public hearings in all districts of the state to get more representations on the issue.

The state government had even prepared a draft bill, much before the BC Commission was to submit its report, and planned to introduce it in the Winter session.

The BC Commission had only conducted five hearings in the capital and collected almost 50,000 representations in favour of providing 12 per cent reservations.

Earlier, the government-appointed G. Sudhir Committee had prepared a voluminous report on the issue with its recom- mendations.

The BC Commission members are of the opinion that the Sudhir Committee report can be included in their report.

However, Mr Rao has now came to the conclusion that whatever legislation the government intends to bring should be fool proof and should withstand legal scrutiny, the sources said.

The sources added that this was why Mr Rao had directed BC Commission to conduct hearings in all districts if necessary to study the issue before coming out with an official report.

The sources said BC Commission members wanted a meeting with the CM to finalise the modalities and their visits as per his wish, but this has not happened till now.

“We are not in hurry now as the government has indicated to us to take up more hearings on the issue. We will plan our visits to the various districts once we meet the CM,” one of the BC Commission members told DC.