Chhattisgarh Congress Government's Big Move On Quota, Takes It To 76%

Move through assembly came days after quotas given in 2012 were struck down by High Court saying total reservation beyond 50 per cent was unconstitutional

The Chhattisgarh assembly on Friday unanimously adopted two Bills to enhance the state's overall reservation to 76 per cent in jobs and educational institutions — possibly the highest in India — in a strategic move by Bhupesh Baghel's Congress government that other parties may find hard to oppose.

The Bills, if and when granted assent by the Governor, will become Acts and provide 32 per cent quota for Scheduled Tribes (ST), 13 per cent for Scheduled Castes (SC), 27 per cent for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and 4 per cent for Economically Weaker Sections not covered by any of the other quotas.

The special session of the assembly was convened mainly to get these two Bills passed. This came days after the tribals' quota had declined to 20 per cent, because the High Court struck down a 2012 government order of the then BJP government and said total reservation beyond 50 per cent was unconstitutional.

Admissions and hiring for government jobs were held up as there was no quota in place since the September 19 judgment, as the government was putting its new plan in place.