Chandigarh: Amidst opposition from leaders of other communities and even some Jat leaders and a BJP parliamentarian, the Haryana assembly finally passed a bill to provide reservation to Jat and other communities. The opposition Congress legislators kept away from the session when the bill was passed.
The Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill, 2016, was passed by voice vote after it was moved by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
While the ruling BJP and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) legislators were present inside the assembly when the bill was passed, the Congress legislators were not present.
The Congress lawmakers, according to party sources, kept away from the session to protest the six months' suspension handed down to three Congress legislators by the speaker on March 15. The legislators were suspended for tearing copies of the Governor's address. The Congress has 14 legislators in the 90-member house.
The state cabinet on Monday cleared the bill that proposed to provide reservation to the politically-dominant Jat community and four other communities - Jat Sikhs, Tyagis, Bishnois and Rors. Khattar, who claimed that the bill passage was a "historic day" for Haryana, said his government fulfilled the promise made to Jat and other communities for reservation in government jobs and educational institutions.
"The bill was brought after a lot of research. Every category will gain from this bill. It will be a win-win situation for all. There will be no loss to anyone (community)," Khattar said after the bill was passed.
While Jat leader Hawa Singh Sangwan welcomed the bill, another Jat leader, Yash Pal Malik, said the bill has not done enough for the Jat community. Congress leader and former minister Ajay Singh Yadav, who is from the OBC community, described the passage of the bill as a "black day" for Haryana.
BJP MP from Kurukshetra Rajkumar Saini, who has been opposing reservation for Jats, said it was a "murder of democracy". Saini has been opposing reservation to the politically-dominant Jat community in the state.
