SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress (MPYC) on Tuesday expressed concern over the manner in which the Centre pushed through the
Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Parliament.
The bill amends the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004 to implement the 103 rd Constitution Amendment providing for 10 per cent reservation for poor in educational institutes and government offices in the state.
Due to President’s rule over Jammu and Kashmir since December 19, 2018 the powers of the legislature of the state are being exercised by or under the authority of the Parliament.
Previous amendments passed by Parliament have raised the issue of whether Acts of Parliament can be extended to Jammu and Kashmir at a time when there is no state government. Such moves, as per Article 370 (which was abrogated on Tuesday) require concurrence of the state government, MPYC president Richard Marak said in a statement.
It may be noted that students across the state have been demanding implementation of reservation but have felt that the issue was sidelined by the government. This, for instance, includes students who have qualified NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) for admission in medical and dental colleges in Jammu and Kashmir and are in the dark over getting the reservation benefit.
In light of this, the government introduced the bill in a last-minute effort to save face, six weeks after Parliament session began. The haste is reflected in the fact that the bill was listed for consideration and passing the same day it was introduced.
