Give 9th schedule protection to SC-ST quota increase: Siddu

NT Correspondent

Raichur: Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the Assembly Siddaramaiah on Friday demanded that the state government pass a law guaranteeing the expansion of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) quota and have it included under the ninth schedule of the Indian constitution.

The ninth schedule protects laws and regulations from judicial intervention and cites violations of fundamental rights as justification for the same.

The former chief minister pointed out that the Supreme Court had ruled in 1992 in the Indira Sahani case that reservations should not exceed 50 percent. He added that since economically weaker sections had ensured there was upwards of 60 percent reservation.

“If the expansion of reservation is to acquire legal protection, then the constitution must be amended. We demand that it must be included in the ninth amendment,” he said.