Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday once again questioned the governor’s constitutional power to withhold assent for bills cleared in the state’s assembly. He was referring to the state’s amended reservation bill that was passed in the Chhattisgarh assembly last year which is since waiting for the governor’s assent.
CM Baghel urged governor Biswabhusan Harichandan to either give his assent or return the bill to the assembly. “Our reservation bill has been put on hold. This is affecting the beneficiaries. I once again urge the governor to either send it back to the assembly or grant his assent to it,” the chief minister said talking to reporters.
His remarks on reservation bill came after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi dared the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government to release the 2011 caste-based census in the public domain and remove the 50% cap on reservation. Similarly, party president Mallikarjun Kharge urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to conduct a comprehensive and updated caste census.
CM Baghel and the governor’s House have been at loggerheads since last year over pending assent to the bill. The reservation bill was passed when Harichandan’s predecessor Anusuiya Uikey was in the office. He also cited a resolution that was passed in the Tamil Nadu assembly urging the Centre and President Droupadi Murmu to issue appropriate instructions against governor RN Ravi on giving assents to bills within specific period.
“We don’t want to pass such resolution therefore we appeal the governor to give his assent to the bill and hand it over to us,” CM Baghel added.
The reservation bill was passed on December 3, 2022, in the assembly which increased reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) to 27% from the existing 14%, and for the Scheduled Caste (SC) community to 13% from 12% in public employment and admissions. The 32% reservation for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category was kept unchanged. Besides, a 4% reservation provision was also provided to the Economic Weaker Section (EWS), taking the total extent of the reservation to 76%.
