Swapnil Tripathi from National Law University, Jodhpur, analyses the recent passing of reservation legislations in the state of Rajasthan.
Abstract
The Rajasthan government recently enacted two legislations guaranteeing reservations to Economically Backward Classes and Special Backward Classes. primarily Gujjars. The said reservation includes quotas in various spheres including education, public employment etc. Article 15 and 16(1) of the Indian Constitution guarantees equality of opportunities to all citizens in matters relating to employment. However, such equality is not absolute as the Article itself allows for the reservation of a certain portion of seats for the backward classes. The Apex Court on this point has held that the straitjacket rule for reservation is 50%, a cap which can only be exceeded in extraordinary situations. The basic idea behind reservation was to do justice to the downtrodden. However, the allegations that government activities of reservation are targeted at creating a vote bank have emerged too and Rajasthan government’s present act of granting reservation is attacked with the same. The justification given by the parliamentary affairs minister Rajendra Rathore, was the existence of similar reservation in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Similar actions have led to the emergence of the question of the motive behind such reservation and the aptness of the same. This paper aims to decipher the above questions while also throwing light on th validity of reservations in the aforementioned states. It discusses the Rajasthan model of reservation in-depth, comparing it with that of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh while determining its vailidity. It also aims to fathom whether the idea behind the concept of reservation is being achieved or not.