Governor Delaying Assent To Quota Bills: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday said state Governor Anusuiya Uikey was delaying assent to amendment bills related to reservation passed by the state assembly earlier this month under one pretext or the other.

The bills will take the overall reservation in the state to 76 per cent.

Calling it an example of an attempt to weaken and demean Constitutional institutions, he said the ruling Congress would organise a mega rally in the state capital Raipur on January 3.

"The governor was looking for excuses to delay the process of approving these bills. The bills were passed by the state assembly. Is the legal advisor to Raj Bhawan bigger than the state's Vidhan Sabha which passed the bills?" Baghel asked while speaking to reporters.

"It is a live example of how an attempt is being made to weaken and demean constitutional institutions," he alleged.

The state government last week submitted a reply to the governor over ten-point queries raised by her in connection with the two quota bills seeking to hike the overall reservation in the state to 76 per cent.

"When the governor raised 10-point queries in connection with bills, all my officers were against sending the reply as there is no such arrangement in the Constitution. But keeping in view her stubbornness and the interest of 2.5 crore people of the state, I decided to send her the replies. To satisfy the (her) ego, we replied," Baghel said.

He alleged the governor is again looking for excuses.

"She will get a reply from the state government examined by the legal advisor. Only the High Court and the Supreme Court can do such examinations. This is unfortunate that now the legal advisor will examine it. Has the legal advisor become bigger than the state Assembly?" he asked.

The Assembly on December 3 passed the Chhattisgarh Public Service (Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes Reservation) Amendment Bill and the Chhattisgarh Educational Institutions (Reservation in admission) amendment bill related to the quota in government jobs and admission in educational institutions in proportion to the population of different categories in the state.

According to these bills, the Scheduled Tribe will get a quota of 32 per cent, Other Backward Classes 27 per cent, and Scheduled Castes 13 per cent while four per cent has been provisioned for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), taking the overall reservation to 76 per cent.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)