AIADMK, TMC, IUML and AIMIM opposed the Bill.
The 124th Amendment to the Constitution, which would pave the way for the government's proposed 10 percent reservation for economically weaker sections of non-reserved categories, has been passed in the Lok Sabha. The Bill will now head to a vote in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The Constitutional Amendment, which was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawarchand Gehlot, passed in the 543-member House with 323 votes for and 3 votes against.
A vast majority of the parties in the Lok Sabha supported the Bill, even as many lashed out at its timing. Some expressed displeasure at the fact that lawmakers had not been given enough time to suggest any amendments to the Bill. The Congress, even as it supported the call for the new 10 percent reservation, called for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to examine it.
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Four parties expressed opposition to the Bill - Tamil Nadu's All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), West Bengal's Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Kerala's Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). However, the AIADMK and TMC - who together account for 71 seats - walked out and were not present for the vote, meaning though they opposed the Bill they did not vote against it.
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The most substantial rationale for their opposition was that it stood contrary to the idea of social justice. Questioning the need for the quota, senior AIADMK leader and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambi Durai said the amendment was likely to be struck down by the Supreme Court. He took the example of BR Ambedkar, and said he had been subjected to humiliation on the basis of his caste despite the eminence he attained. "That is why the forefathers of our Constitution took social justice as a criteria and not economy as a criteria," he said.
The DMK too had expressed opposition to the new quota. But since it doesn't have even a single member in the Lok Sabha, it is likely to add its dissent when the Bill moves to the Rajya Sabha.
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