Quota row: Cong moves privilege motion notice against Union minister

The Congress has moved a notice for privilege motion against Social Justice Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot in Lok Sabha, accusing him of misleading the House over the Supreme Court judgement on the issue of reservation in promotion.

Congress member Gaurav Gogoi has moved the privilege motion notice against the Union minister.

“The issue is under my consideration,” Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said after Gogoi raised the issue in the Lower House and said that he has moved a notice for privilege motion against Gehlot for misleading Parliament on the apex court's verdict on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court, while hearing on a batch of petitions last week, held that an individual cannot claim reservation as a fundamental right and the government was not bound to provide quota in promotion for the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) employees in public jobs.

As the apex court verdict set off a political storm, Gehlot made a statement on the issue in Lok Sabha on Monday, informing the members that the Union government was holding a high-level discussion on the issue and would take necessary step accordingly after discussions are over.

“I want to make it clear here that neither government of India was ever made a party in this matter nor the government of India was asked to file any affidavit in this matter,” the Union minister told the House, asserting that the Union government was committed to the welfare of the people belonging to the SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

He, however, sought to put the Congress on the dock, saying the issue was a result of the Uttarakhand government's decision in 2012 for not implementing the reservation.

“It would be appropriate to mention here that the Congress was ruling the state in 2012,”

Terming the minister's statement as “wrong and misleading”, Congress' leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Tuesday demanded to hold a discussion on the issue in the Lower House.

“Rajnath Singh (Defence Minister) had (on Monday) said that a discussion can be held,” he said, holding the current regime of the BJP in Uttarakhand responsible for the apex court's verdict on the issue.