Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced a bill to provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in the Goa Legislative Assembly in the Lok Sabha Today. The bill is titled “Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024”. As of now, the ST community has no seats reserved in the Goa assembly.
The bill will empower the census commissioner to notify the population of STs in Goa. Based on it, the Election Commission will amend the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008, to make way for ST reservation in the 40-member Goa Assembly. The Election Commission will take into consideration the revised population figures of the Scheduled Tribes and readjust the Legislative Assembly constituency once the bill becomes a law.
The proposal to bring the bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet in March this year days before the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections was announced on March 16. As of now, no seat in the 40-member Goa assembly is reserved for the ST community while one seat is reserved for the Scheduled Castes. The ST community has been demanding that four out of the 40 seats in the Goa assembly be reserved for them.
BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday opposed the recent Supreme Court verdict allowing sub-classification within Scheduled Castes, and said Parliament should overturn the ruling. “The sub-classification of people within Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) has been permitted, our party doesn’t agree with it at all,” Mayawati said.
Get the latest news updates and stay informed with FELA NEWS!
Source: Business Standard
