NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the 126th Constitution Amendment Bill seeking to extend reservation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for another 10 years until January 2030, with all 352 MPs present voting in favour.

The debate on the bill, however, saw a sharply divided House, with opposition benches including Congress, DMK, NCP, TMC and CPM, as well as NDA ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) voicing concerns over the legislation seeking to end reservation for the Anglo-Indian community.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad , however, argued that while there was a provision of reservation for Anglo-Indians in the bill, the government had not brought it to the House and still “deliberating on it”.

“The bill is very straight and unambiguous. But I want to say that the House will have to take a call one day on whether to grant reservation to the Anglo-Indian community,” he said.

Quoting the 2011 census, Prasad said India is home to 296 members of the Anglo-Indian community, a figure that was challenged by opposition parties. Congress MP Hibi Eden accused Prasad of “misleading” the House over the numbers and moved a privilege motion against the minister, arguing that reservation for the community should continue. Demanding a government-appointed committee to study the socio-economic and educational situation of the community, Eden said, “Yesterday the home minister said interests of the minority communities will be protected. How then can you withdraw the protection to the Anglo-Indians which was given to them by the founding fathers?”

TMC MP Saugata Roy accused Prasad of seeking to take away from the Anglo Indian community the reservation that BR Ambedkar gave to them, while BJD’s Bhartruhari Mahtab asked that if the present bill was only extending reservations to SCs and STs.

Under the present provisions, reservation for the SC, ST and Anglo Indian community is to end on January 25, 2020. The amendment extends reservations to SCs and STs for 10 years, but remains silent on whether reservation will continue for the Anglo-Indian community. At present, two members of the Anglo Indian community are nominated to Lok Sabha, and one each to 13 state assemblies.

NCP MP Supriya Sule asked whether the government had consulted all states and stakeholders from the community before moving the bill. NDA ally Anupriya Patel also agreed that the smallest minority needs political protection.

Prasad, however, countered the opposition arguments by asserting that it was Congress which had, in the past, ended concessions to the Anglo-Indian community in postal department, railways and customs. He also said the “constitutional mechanism” of consultations will be done and the bill, once passed by both Houses of Parliament, will need to be ratified by at least 50% of the state assemblies for it to be implemented.

