On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to do away with the provisions that allowed representation of the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha.
According to Hindustan Times, the reservation for members of the Anglo-Indian community has been done away with "for the time being". The law stated that 84 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha are reserved for Scheduled Castes and 47 for Scheduled Tribes. In addition, the government nominates two members from the Anglo-Indian community, making it a house of 545 members. But the Union Cabinet approved the proposal to extend the reservation of Schedule Castes (SC) and Schedule Tribes (ST) in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for another 10 years.
An official told the Hindustan Times, that in the first term of the Modi government, two members from the Anglo-Indian community were nominated. No nominations were made in the second term. The report further states that reservation for the Anglo-Indian community in the state assemblies could also be withdrawn.
When asked whether reservation for the Anglo-Indian community has also been extended, Union minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters that once the Bill is introduced, the details will be known. The minister said there are 84 members from the Scheduled Caste and 47 from the Scheduled Tribe communities in Parliament.
In state assemblies across India, there are 614 SC members and 554 ST members. As on today, there is a provision to nominate two members of the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha but they have not yet been nominated, according to Lok Sabha website. Including the Speaker, Lok Sabha has 543 members as on December 4.
While reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the legislature is carried out through constitutional amendments, similar reservation in jobs for these categories is decided by respective state governments, a senior functionary explained.
