Shillong Jan 20: The Meghalaya Assembly on Monday passed a resolution ratifying the Constitution (126th) Amendment Bill, 2019, which was passed by Parliament in December last year.

The resolution was unanimously passed by members of the House after it was brought in by the state government during the special session.

The bill relates to extension of quota for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies.
It is for extending reservation of seats for another 10 years up to January 25, 2030, in the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly for the SCs and the STs.
Meghalaya has 60 Assembly seats out of which 55 seats are reserved for the STs and five are general seats.
The Shillong and Tura Lok Sabha seats are also reserved for the STs.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma who tabled the resolution said that this amendment had been done every 10 years from the commencement of the Constitution to extend the period for reservation of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats for the SCs and the STs.

Leader of Opposition, Mukul Sangma, who supported the resolution however, said that the attention was also drawn in connection with the period for extension for the SCs and the STs especially after the amendment bill does not extend any more provision to Anglo Indians.
He said the House should keep in mind that STs belonged to a vulnerable group and demanded that the state Assembly articulate its concerns while sending the resolution on the ratification of the amendment bill.