RAIPUR: All eyes are on the Chhattisgarh Governor Anusuiya Uike, who is yet to give an assent on the reservation bill that was unanimously passed in the Assembly last Friday, leading to the ruling Congress party expressing concern over the delay.
Five state cabinet ministers handed over the bill to the governor the same day following which she assured them to take a decision after the Raj Bhawan secures the opinion of the legal experts. According to the sources in the Raj Bhawan, the governor had summoned the secretary of the general administration department Kamalpreet Singh and held a discussion while expressing her views over ‘what if the enactment of the bill gets challenged in the court and how the state government is prepared to face it’.
“When our cabinet colleagues met the governor on Friday last, she told us that the law officer was on leave and so will give her assent the following Monday. We are really concerned over the delay merely on the grounds of seeking the legal opinion”, said Ravindra Choubey, cabinet minister and the state government spokesperson.
The state assembly last Friday had unanimously passed adopting voice-vote the Chhattisgarh Public Service (Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes Reservation) Amendment bill taking the quota in the state to a whopping 76 per cent with the tribal reservation raised to 32 per cent.
In the amendment bill, the proposed quota for Scheduled Caste is13 per cent, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) 27 per cent and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) will get 4 per cent reservations. The opposition BJP stated that the governor will take decision keeping in perspective every aspect of the legal provisions. “Constitution, rules and regulations are not the prerogative of the Congress party,” the party said. The governor acts as the constitutional head in the state and will accordingly take appropriate decision”, said Brijmohan Agrawal, senior BJP MLA and spokesperson.
‘What if enactment of bill gets challenged in the court’
According to the sources in the Raj Bhawan, the governor had summoned the secretary of the general administration department Kamalpreet Singh and held a discussion while expressing her views over ‘what if the enactment of the bill gets challenged in the court and how the state government is prepared to face it’