A delegation led by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren will meet Governor Ramesh Bais on Tuesday to request him to send two legislations related to reservation for government jobs and determination of domicile status to the Centre for inclusion in the ninth schedule of the Constitution. Soren has urged leaders of all political parties and independent legislators to join the delegation.
The governor has given time to meet the CM-led team at 3 pm. Members of the delegation will request the governor to send two legislations - one on raising the quota for reservation in government jobs in the state to 77 per cent and another on the 1932 ‘Khatiyan’ (land records)-based domicile - to the central government to provide a constitutional shield.
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The Jharkhand Reservation in Vacancies of Posts and Services (Amendment) Bill 2022, passed in the state assembly on November 11, raised the quota for reservations in government jobs for STs, SCs, OBCs and economically weaker sections (EWS) to 77 per cent from the current 60 per cent.
In a special session of the assembly last month, another bill - the Jharkhand Definition of Local Persons and for Extending the Consequential Social, Cultural and Other Benefits to such Local Persons Bill, 2022 - was passed by voice vote, fixing land records with 1932 as the cut-off year to determine domicile status. However, both the bills passed by the assembly came with the caveat that "the Acts shall take effect after these are included in the ninth schedule of the Constitution of India ''.
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The ninth schedule of the Constitution contains a list of central and state laws that cannot be challenged in courts. “Presently both the bills have been sent to the governor's office for approval. In the larger public interest and the interest of the state, the chief minister has expressed his desire that an all-party delegation should meet the governor and request him to send the Bills to the Government of India for further action so that they can be converted into law soon," a statement from the state government said.
Soren, in his letter to leaders of all political parties and independent legislators, mentioned that both the bills were unanimously passed on November 11 and now required constitutional shield as whenever efforts were made to form local policies they were rejected. "In order to provide constitutional shield to both the bills ... the decision to include these in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution was taken unanimously by the Legislative Assembly," the letter said.
