A recent note on reservation in promotion in State bureaucracy by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s Principal Secretary N. Manjunath Prasad has ruffled feathers among the officials and employees of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. They have termed it an attempt to ‘create confusion’ in promotions despite a clear Supreme Court ruling on the issue.
The note sent by Mr. Prasad on April 13 to Chief Secretary P. Ravikumar is based on instructions from the Chief Minister to review the petition by the Federation of General Category, Backward Classes and Minorities Employees (Ahimsa), who have sought several changes to reservation in promotion in State bureaucracy after the Supreme Court order of January 28, 2022, in Jarnail Singh V/s Lachhmi Narain Gupta case.
Among others, Ahimsa has sought an end to the roster system currently followed to enable reservation in promotion once it reaches 15% and 3% for SCs and STs respectively and follow replacement theory where a general category vacancy created by superannuation is filled with general category employee and a similar method is followed for SC/STs.
Ahimsa has demanded reduction of facilities/ choices for SC/ST employees citing that they already had several exemptions in age, fee, qualification and reservation in promotion. It has urged the Government not to consider meritorious SC/ST employees under the general category.
The note by the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister cites all the demands made by the Ahimsa, which has also urged the Government to limit the percentage of SC/ST employees to 15 % and 3 % to maintain balance with general category employees.
Meanwhile, the President of SC/ST Employees Association D. Chandrashekaraiah termed the note by the CM’s Principal Secretary as “outrageous” since the content goes against the Supreme Court ruling that has upheld the Consequential Seniority Act 2017. “The Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms in November 2021 has already clarified the procedures for reservation in promotion and the content of the note is contradictory.” The association will petition the Chief Secretary seeking withdrawal of the note, he added.
