104th Constitution Amendment Bill seeking reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribess (ST) and Other Backward Castes (OBC)

Parliament approves 104th Constitution Amendment Bill

New Delhi, Dec 22, 2005 (ANI): The Rajya Sabha on Thursday approved the 104th Constitution Amendment Bill seeking reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribess (ST) and Other Backward Castes (OBC) in non-minority unaided private educational institutions.

The Upper House passed the Bill almost unanimously with 172 voted in favour of it, while two members voted against it.

The Lok Sabha had already passed the Bill on Tuesday with 379 votes in favour and one vote against and one abstaining.

While piloting the bill Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh said the bill was aimed with providing greater access to higher education, including professional education, to a large number of students belonging to socially and educationally backward classes of citizens and SCs and STs.

The Bill was the outcome of an all-party meeting that had summoned last August to nullify certain disadvantages created by judgments of the courts.

It was aimed at amending Article 15 of the Constitution, which provided reservation of seats to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in admission to government-aided educational institutions only.

Singh said that Article 30(1) provided the right to all minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice and it was essential that such rights were protected. That's why the institutions, declared by the state to be minority ones were omitted from the purview of the new provision.

Singh said that the clause would enable Parliament as well as State Legislatures to make appropriate laws for this purpose. (ANI)