Promotion quota Bill lost in SP,Sena noise

The Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday amid a scuffle between SP and BSP members.

The government on Thursday made yet another attempt in the Rajya Sabha to take up for passage the contentious Bill providing for reservation in promotion for SCs and STs in government jobs,but an aggressive Samajwadi Party and Shiv Sena thwarted the bid.

The Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday amid a scuffle between SP and BSP members.

As the House met for the post-lunch session,Minister of State for Personnel V Narayanasamy rose to move the Constitution (One Hundred Seventeenth Amendment) Bill,2012 for consideration and passage. But he faced strong opposition from SP and Shiv Sena members who trooped into the Well of the House shouting slogans.

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The BJP members,on the other hand,continued their demand for the resignation of the Prime Minister,but interestingly did not march into the Well.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien asked the protesting members to return to their seats so that the Bill could be considered. However,as the din continued,he adjourned the House for the day.

Shouting slogans like promotion main aarakshan nahin chalega,Samajwadi Party members had disrupted the proceedings during the morning session as well. The House had to be adjourned twice during the morning session owing to protests by the SP and the BJP members. Several SP members led by Naresh Agrawal were in the Well.

Meanwhile,the government made it clear that it is not planning to extend the current proposal to provide quota in promotions to SC/STs to include OBCs or minorities as demanded by the SP. At present there is no proposal under consideration of the government to provide reservation in promotion to Other Backward Classes and backward minorities, Minister of State for Social Justice D Napoleon said in a written reply to a question asked by SP Rajya Sabha member Arvind Singh.

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In the Lok Sabha,the government introduced a Bill to protect the rights of urban street vendors and regulate street vending activities amid the din.

Sources said Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde wanted to take up for passage the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill,2012 but dropped the idea after the main Opposition BJP did not play ball. He had consulted top BJP leaders L K Advani,Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley in the morning.

Parliament continued to remain paralysed for the 12th consecutive day with the Lok Sabha adjourning for the day in the morning due to disruptions by the BJP over coal block allocation.