By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 5: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Saturday reiterated its position that the job reservation policy should be revised based on scientific and logical grounds.
The party, which submitted its suggestions to the expert committee during the three-day public hearing at the State Convention Centre, claimed that the policy of 1972 is based on assumption.
“The Para one talks about population but when you see in the sub-points of Para one which deals with the quantum of reservation, it totally deviates from the population. Overall, if you take the Khasi Jaintia and Garo, it reflects more or less the population but if you break (it), it has no reflection of the population and therefore, it has no logical basis,” VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh argued.
Urging the committee to review the policy on a logical basis, he said, “We made a point that 1971 should be the basis of the reservation policy, that is the year which really reflects the population structure of the state. After that, there are other variables like the differences in birth rate, migration problem etc.”
On their submission to the expert committee, Myrboh said the party stated that the SC and the ST population of Meghalaya in 1971 was only 81% but the job reservation policy provides for 85%.
“It is interesting that they combined the SC and the other STs which has no logic at all. These two communities are totally different and you have to differentiate between the two. Therefore, we say these two should be segregated and not combined,” the VPP leader insisted.
On the inadequacy of representation, Myrboh said, “Even the Supreme Court and the Government of India never touched reservation for SC and ST. They did not allow the reservation for OBC to cross the 50% limit. In order to keep the overall population under 50%, they cut down the reservation of the OBC and not of the ST and SC.”
He said it is an acknowledged fact that the STs are more backwards than the OBCs but the reservation for STs is much less than that of the OBCs. The OBCs get 27% reservation because of population but the STs get only 7.5% reservation despite being backward, he added.
Four politicians – senior BJP leaders AL Hek and Sanbor Shullai, VPP leader Adelbert Nongrum and UDP leader Mayralborn Syiem – also submitted their suggestions to the expert committee in individual capacity on Saturday.
In his suggestion, Syiem said “At the state level, we have seen that the ST population comprises Khasi, Jaintia and Garo and we have a combined 80% reservation – 40-40 each. In the competitive world, it will be in the fitness of things if we can give 80% combine to the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo.”
Syiem said the percentage of reservation for the persons with disabilities and other STs should be increased.
“…we leave it to the expert committee. It (reservation) has to be as per the mandate of the law within the Constitution of India. I hope they will come out with a constructive solution,” he added.
Earlier, Hek stressed that the reservation policy should give priority to the vulnerable section of the society in the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo Hills regions.
“If you ask me, everybody should get justice. Why should the job reservation policy not give priority to the vulnerable society of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo and also some percentage for the established families (of the three tribes),” Hek said.
“We are getting 40:40 and we will make it 50% for the vulnerable society of Khasis, Jaintias and Garos. Of the remaining 30%, 15% will go to Khasi-Jaintia and 15% to Garo. What is wrong because all 80% will go to our own communities only? By doing this, the benefit will come to the poor who are the tribal people,” the BJP leader said.
VPP MLA from North Shillong, Adelbert Nongrum suggested a new system of 50% job reservation for the Khasi-Jaintia category and 30% for the Garo category.
Nongrum said that if the first proposal is not accepted then there should be 86% combined reservation for the STs as per the 2011 census.