Jat reservation bill a win-win move for all, says Manohar Lal Khattar

Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the Jat reservation bill passed by the assembly today was a "win-win" for all and "no section stands to lose".

"No section stands to lose, it is a win-win thing for all. A long pending issue has been solved, we have kept our promise. The Bill was passed unanimously in the Assembly," Khattar told a press conference after the Bill was unanimously passed by voice-vote.

Opposition Congress members were not present in the House when the Bill was passed as they stayed away to protest the suspension of their three members for six months for tearing copies of the Governor's Address in the Assembly a fortnight ago.

While Khattar and his cabinet colleagues, including Finance Minister Abhimanyu, claimed it was a "historic day" for Haryana, opposition Congress slammed the BJP government.

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said what the BJP government had brought in the Assembly was a "carbon copy" of what the Congress had provided during its rule but the Supreme Court had quashed the move.

The Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill, 2016 proposed to give reservation to Jats and five other castes - Jat Sikhs, Rors,

Bishnois, Tyagis and Mulla Jat/Muslim Jat -- in government services and admission to educational institutions.

The Chief Minister, who was interacting with mediapersons shortly after he was greeted by Khap leaders following the passage of the Bill, said the provisions would be implemented immediately after the Governor's assent to the Bill.

He said a request would also be made to the Centre to include the Act in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution so as to shield it from judicial review.