On February 7, the Supreme Court delivered its verdict in a case from Uttarakhand in which it held that members of backward groups could n...
On February 7, the Supreme Court delivered its verdict in a case from Uttarakhand in which it held that members of backward groups could not claim reservations in government jobs as a matter of right. The verdict has created a political storm. Though the case pertains to reservations in promotions in government jobs, the judgement implies that the principle that the state is not obligated to provide quotas applies to initial appointments as well.
Almost every political party has urged the Union government to intervene to remedy the effects of the Supreme Court judgement.
The positions that the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party took in Parliament were curious. They blamed each other for the mess, even though both parties are equally culpable of diluting the quota regime over the decades.
While Congress members in Parliament demanded a discussion on the effects of the Supreme Court verdict, they failed to acknowledge that it was a government run by their party in Uttarakhand that in 2012 decided not to give reservations in government jobs to members of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. This despite the state government’s own data showing that these marginalised groups were inadequately represented in government jobs.
The BJP was prompt to point this out...
