From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: Even President K R Narayanan is equally agitated over denial of
seniority on promotion to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe government
employees that provoked the SC and ST MPs to disrupt the Lok Sabha on
Wednesday.

Narayanan had written to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee only two months
ago to do something to change the government orders that restore seniority
of the general category employees on promotion, after he got a memorandum
from the All-India Confederation of SC-ST Organisations.

The government is, however, helpless since the orders were based on the
judgments that the Supreme Court has refused to review. Previous Deve Gowda
and Gujral Governments could do nothing since the Supreme Court is quite firm
on implementation of its several rulings since 1995.

PM PREVENTED: The Lok Sabha was adjourned on Wednesday without transacting
any business even as a hapless Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was
prevented by the irate SC and ST members from explaining that his government
was not responsible for the orders against reservations passed by the
previous United Front government.

The disruption began right from the start of the day, the Speaker first
adjourning the House on account of the pandemonium drowning the question
hour, then again at 12.10 and finally the Deputy Speaker called it a day at
2 PM when the MPs again rushed into the House well and repeated slogan
shouting. They were just not ready to let Vajpayee say anything and the
third time Vajpayee opted to take a back seat and watch the drama.

The Rajya Sabha may face a similar blockade on Thursday as evident from
the consultations among the SC and ST MPs who preferred to let the pressure
be built on Wednesday only in the lower house. The Opposition, however,
forced adjournment of the Rajya Sabha for the second day on Wednesday after
the question hour by protesting against non-inclusion of debate on
corruption in the defence purchases.

The Government was apparently caught unaware of the SC-ST MPs' gang-up
despite the fact that some of the leaders like former Union Minister Buta
Singh and Rajya Sabha member Hanumanthappa had been mobilising them to bring
the ticklish issue to boil in the Lok Sabha. The ruling BJP's SC-ST MPs
sought to join hands but distanced away from the slogan-shouting opposition
members not preventing Vajpayee to speak.

Many MPs could be seen trying to comprehend what the dispute was and that
too so important that the agitated colleagues put it on priority over even
the burning issue of the sacked Navy chief Admiral Bhagwat's case and his
allegations of corruption in defence purchases.

SOURCE OF PROVOCATION: It was a written reply, which looked on the face of
it inconsequential, to a question put in the Rajya Sabha on February 25 to
the Prime Minister, but it made the SC-ST MPs to unite cutting across the
party lines and bring the government to its knees.
The reply was given by Minister of State for Personnel Kadambur M R
Janarthanan on behalf of the Prime Minister to the question of Chaudhary
Chunni Lal who wanted to know outcome of a memorandum given by the All-India
Confederation of SC-ST Organisations to the Home Minister for withdrawal or
modification of the office memoranda adversely affecting promotional careers
of the SC and ST employees.

The reply was: "The points raised in the representation have been examined
but it has not been found possible to withdraw/modify any of these
instructions." The Government's hands are obviously tied with the Supreme
Court judgments but as Buta Singh could be heard shouting during the
pandemonium, Parliament can legislate to remove the Supreme Court's
"obstruction" in the reservation policy.

WHAT IS THE ISSUE? : The dispute relates to a series of office memoranda
issued by the Department of Personnel and Training in January, July and
August, 1997 with regard to seniority of the SC-ST government employees on
the basis of several Supreme Court judgments starting from October 10, 1995
when the first judgment came in the case of a general category employee,
Virpal Singh Chauhan.

There is not one but five separate judgments of the Supreme Court. The
previous governments tried for review of these judgments since they go
against the reservation policy but the Supreme Court steadfastly rejected
any review.

The dispute was over who is senior: A SC/ST candidate who is promoted
earlier by virtue of rule of reservation/roster or his senior colleague in
the general category who may be promoted to the higher grade subsequently.
The Supreme Court ruled that the general category candidate "regains his
seniority over such earlier promoted SC/ST candidate" on his promotion.

Janata Dal leader and former Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan, who was
conspicuous by his absence when the SC-ST MPs rake up the issue, had himself
tried as a minister to scuttle the Supreme Court ruling but the Supreme
Court's serious strictures made the government to ultimately issue the first
order on January 30, 1997 and further such orders on reservations on July 2
and 22, 1997 and August 13 and 29, 1998. These orders also for the first
time clubbed the OBCs with the General category to give them the benefit
that accrued from the court judgments.

DISPUTED ORDER: The SC-ST MPs want immediate revocation of these orders
which say "if a candidate belonging to the Scheduled Caste or the Scheduled
Tribe is promoted to an immediate higher post/grade against a reserved
vacancy earlier than his senior general/OBC candidate who is promoted later
to the said immediate higher post/grade, the general/OBC candidate will
regain his seniority over such earlier promoted candidate of the Scheduled
Caste and the Scheduled Tribe in the immediate higher post/grade."

According to the PMO sources, each and every order which thus restore
seniority of the general candidates on promotion had been made with the
previous Cabinet approvals granted on the basis of the Law Ministry's
opinion that the government will be liable for contempt of court.
The Government's difficulty is that it can't help the SC-ST candidates in
this matter and even the agitated MPs know that nothing can be done, the
sources added. END.
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