By IANS,
New Delhi: Top leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party will meet in the national capital late Tuesday to decide their strategy on the constitutional amendment bill for reserving promotions in government jobs for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, party sources said.
Top leaders will meet at L.K. Advani’s residence at 8 p.m., party sources said. The meeting has been called as some party leaders had reservations over the bill.
The BJP, at the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Aug 21, had backed the bill, which was pushed by Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati.
Talking to IANS Tuesday morning, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the party will back the bill, but some amendments may be proposed.
“We are supporting the bill. But some members have reservations. We will discuss it and suggest amendments,” BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told IANS.
Mayawati, in a statement to media here, requested the BJP to allow the bill to be passed in the present parliament session which is to end Sep 7.
The BJP has however been non-committal so far if it will allow parliament to function and let the bill pass.
The bill, which is a constitutional amendment bill, has to be passed with two/third majority, and in presence of at least half the total members. Its passage, given the frequent adjournment of parliament in the current session over coal blocks allottment, thus cannot be taken for granted.
The BSP had raised the issue in parliament after the Supreme Court in April this year overruled the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to provide reservations in government job promotions.
The BSP, which had provided the reservation when it was in government, then demanded a constitutional amendment to circumvent the order of the Supreme Court and provide for such quotas.