Uttarakhand assembly sets up 7-member panel on job quota for statehood activists
BJP and Congress lawmakers supported the intent of the legislation for 10% job quota but pointed out that there were still some gaps
DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand assembly speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan has constituted a seven-member select committee headed by parliamentary affairs minister Prem Chand Aggarwal to examine the bill that proposes 10% horizontal reservation to statehood activists and their dependents in government jobs, people familiar with the matter said.
The assembly resolved to refer the bill - Uttarakhand Reservation in Government Service for the Identified Andolankari of Uttarakhand Movement and their Dependents Bill, 2023 - to the select committee on Friday before the monsoon session came to an end.
Lawmakers from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress supported the intent of the legislation but pointed out that there were still some gaps.
Ritu Khanduri Bhushan said the members of the committee will soon be informed about their appointment. She said the committee hasn’t been given a deadline but it will submit its report as soon as possible.
Prem Chand Aggarwal, who has been named to head the committee, wasn’t available for his comment.
On September 1, the Uttarakhand cabinet approved a proposal to introduce the legislation in the assembly.
But statehood activists criticised the legislation, saying it was a rushed job which did not incorporate their views.
“The state government should have prepared the draft properly and consulted with all stakeholders before tabling it in the assembly. All objections should have been addressed before its introduction in the Assembly. It’s a serious error,” said Kashi Singh Airy, statehood activist and president of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal,
Khatima MLA Bhuwan Kapri asked the government to reconsider the bill, asking that extend the reservation to recruitment conducted by Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (UKPSC).”
BJP MLA from Vikas Nagar Munna Singh Chauhan had also flagged some provisions in the assembly and expressed apprehension that “there could be a legal conflict over some provisions. That’s why it should be withdrawn and reviewed”.
Statehood activists are those people who participated in the Uttarakhand statehood movement within the undivided state of Uttar Pradesh which ultimately resulted in the formation of Uttarakhand as a separate state on November 9 2000.
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