Increase reservation to 68 per cent, Mallikarjun Kharge urges Centre
Hubballi (Karnataka), May 1 (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday demanded that the Centre remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations and increase it to 68 per cent.
Kharge also accused the union government of not being keen on conducting the caste census initially and agreeing after the pressure built by the Congress party.
“I demand that the Centre remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations and increase it to 67 to 68 per cent,” he said addressing a public meeting in Hubballi.
The Congress held the event under the title, “Save Constitution, Save the Country”. The event is also against the price rise.
The party has alleged that the Centre was responsible for the hike in prices of essential commodities.
According to Kharge, the reservation should be increased to 68 per cent in line with the reservation provided by the Tamil Nadu government.
He charged that the Centre was coming on way to increase reservation to 67 to 68 per cent.
The Congress president alleged that the Centre was initially not keen on conducting the caste census.
“The Centre never wanted to even conduct census but we don’t know how good sense prevailed upon them,” he quipped.
He also sought to know why the census did not take place in 2021.
Had it happened then, we would have come to know the condition of the citizens, their per capita income, their salaries, number of jobs created and the number of people who came out of poverty, Kharge noted.
The Congress chief further said, “Now that the BJP-led Centre has decided to conduct it, our hunch is that the central government is not doing the exercise wholeheartedly.”
Kharge set a deadline of three months to conclude the enumeration work.
“You have to do it in three months, then only we will conclude that you are interested in conducting the census. If you fail to do so then we will believe that you are not keen on it,” he said.
He also underlined that he and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had built pressure on the Centre to get it done.
Kharge, the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, reiterated his demand for a special Parliament session on the Pahalgam terror strike.
“Explain to us what and why it happened in Pahalgam. Was it due to intelligence and security lapse by the central forces, local police or the Border Security Forces?” he asked.
Noting that terrorists shot dead 26 innocent people, Kharge said the Centre should explain the details of the incident.
He reiterated the demand for an all-party meeting.
Kharge flayed Union Minister Piyush Goyal for his statement that Pahalgam-like incidents would continue to disturb until 140 crore Indians do not regard patriotism as their paramount ‘Dharma’.
“A Union Minister says 140 crore people of the country lack patriotism. If they had patriotism, no one would have troubled us. This is absurd. You mean to say all 140 crore people are anti-nationals? Are you all sitting here are anti-nationals and only BJP people are patriots?” Kharge alleged.
“These people were ready to see the country to the British. They were working for the British but it was only Congressmen who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country. It was we who went to jail,” he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
