Gurjjar quota: Gov may not clear unconstitutional bill

Two years of agitation,much of it violent,by the Gurjjar community in Rajasthan,which claimed 68 lives,forced the previous Vasundhara Raje-led BJP Government...

Two years of agitation,much of it violent,by the Gurjjar community in Rajasthan,which claimed 68 lives,forced the previous Vasundhara Raje-led BJP Government to get a Bill passed in the legislature providing for 5 per cent reservation for Gurjjars,Bajaras,Gadias,Lohars and Raikars in educational institutions and appointments and posts in state services.

But,in what could give a fresh twist to the issue,in a communiqué to President Pratibha Patil,copies of which have also been sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,the Union Home Ministry and Law and Justice Ministry,Rajasthan Governor S K Singh,whose assent is mandatory for the Bill to become law,has indicated he has no intention of doing so.

The Bill,which was passed at a special session of the Rajasthan Assembly on July 17,has been pending with the Governor for his assent since then.

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In his letter,Singh has said legal experts have advised him against giving assent to the Bill as it violates the Supreme Court ruling that says that reservations cannot exceed 50 per cent and also violates the provisions of Articles 38 and 46. If the Bill becomes law,the total reservation in the state would go up to 68 per cent.

The letter was written to inform the President about the pressure being put on him by Gujjar Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti leader Col Kirori Singh Bainsla (retd) to give assent to the Bill at the earliest.

Each time he has stated or hinted that he is in a jam and the only person who can solve the problem is me. I have been very polite and extremely patient with him. He has kept on repeating that he is throwing himself at my mercy because if I do not give his consideration and sympathetic treatment,he will be finished, Singhs letter says.

He also claims that Bainsla knows not which way to move,and unless I am magnanimous,he will be finished personally and politically.

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Referring to the legal advice taken by him as well as his own advice to the Gurjjar leader,Singhs letter says that he has informed Bainsla that top constitutional lawyers have told him that there was no way he could give assent to the Bill as it would not stand scrutiny in a court.

Sources in the Union Ministry of Law told The Indian Express that while the Union Government agrees with the Governors view that the reservation Bill was not constitutional,there is little that the Centre can do now.

His letter is not seeking advice or guidance. He has already made up his mind. Moreover,he is fully competent to take whatever decision he wants to take, said a senior officer.