Jat reservation bill to be tabled today

STATE GOVT PLANS TO PROVIDE QUOTA UNDER NEW CATEGORY, BACKWARD CLASSES (C), TO JATS, JAT SIKHS, BISHNOIS, RORS, TYAGIS

CHANDIGARH: A Bill for providing reservation to Jats and four other castes will be tabled in Haryana assembly on Wednesday even as Jat bodies gear up to start a fresh round of agitation.

The BJP government in the state plans to provide 10% reservation under a newly-created category – Backward Classes (C) – to Jats, Jat Sikhs, Bishnois, Rors and Tyagis in Class 3 and 4 government jobs and educational institutions. For Class 1 and 2 jobs, the reservation will be 5%.

JATS READYING UP

All India Jat Sangharsh Samiti national president Yashpal Malik told HT on Wednesday they have convened a meeting of khaps and Jat bodies at Hisar on March 17. "If the government does not initiate a tangible action to grant reservation to Jats, then we will have to think about re-starting

our agitation," he said.

BILL A REPLICA OF EARLIER ORDER

The provisions of the Bill are a replica of the executive orders passed by the previous Congress regime to grant 10% quota under special backward class (SBC) to the five castes on the recommendation of the Haryana Backward Classes Commission. This took the reservation to 57% in the state which is legally indefensible. Subsequently, the previous government granted 10% quota to general castes under the economically backward persons ( EBP), taking the reservation to 67%.

HC ORDER

The Punjab and Haryana high court on July 27, 2015 stayed the 10% SBC quota given by the state government.

“Undisputedly, the impugned reservation in favour of five classes – Bishnoi, Jat, Jat Sikh, Ror and Tyagi – residing in Haryana has been made by Haryana government on the basis of report of Justice KC Gupta Commission. The said report was not accepted by the Supreme Court in its judgment where reservation of Jat community in the central list of other backward classes has been set aside,’’ the HC said in its order.