What is 126th Amendment Bill?

The 126th proposed constitutional amendment was submitted in the Lok Sabha on December 10 under 371-F of 2019. Clear majority approval was given to its passing in the Parliament by Minister of Law and Justice Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad. The Rajya Sabha gave the Bill its blessings on December 12, and the Central Legislative Assembly approved it the next day, following three days of intense discussion. Following this, it was ratified by over half of India’s states. After getting presidential approval, the Bill became law on January 20, 2020. A new law, the 104th Amendment to the Indian Constitution, went into effect on January 25, 2020. 

The 126th Amendment Bill changes laws relating to the reserve of seats for members of the SCs and STs (STs). The Indian Constitution ensures that seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures are reserved for members of the minority communities of the Indian subcontinent, including the Anglo-Indian population. This has been in place for the last 70 years since the Constitution was passed, and it will be phased out on January 25, 2020, as stipulated. Until January 25, 2030, a 10-year extension of the existing SC/ST reservation is proposed in the Bill.

Detailed justifications for amending the Constitution

The population of Anglo-Indians was approximately 3 lakh at the time of independence. According to the latest census figures, there were just around 293 of them in 201. Because they had integrated so effectively, they didn’t require particular representation.

States don’t have a say in the 10-year extension of the SC/ST quota since the law doesn’t require their approval.

No matter how many states ratify a constitutional amendment, it must be ratified by at least half of them before any changes may be implemented. If the Union administration wishes to change any part of Article 368, it will also need the consent of half of the state legislatures. According to Article 334, which is part of the Indian Constitution, the government has only made changes to Article 334, which restricts a specific provision of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures to 70 years only after the Constitution’s enactment.

Sections 368(2)(a) to (e), which need approval by at least half of the state assembly, are not amended by this constitutional amendment bill. As soon as it is enacted by a two-thirds vote of the Rajya Sabha, the 126th Amendment Bill will be ratified by the Presidential consent, so it will be able to change India’s Constitution.

III bills passed by Lok sabha

Dam Safety Legislation for the Year 2019, An Act to Regulate the Use of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), and 2021. 2020’s Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill.

List of Bills passed in 2020 (Important Bills)

A total of 25 Bills were passed by both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. That’s the most number of bills that have ever been approved in a single day – 2.7. Here are Some Important Bills, Passed By Houses Of Parliament In Monsson Session 2020 as follows:

In the agricultural industry

• The 2020 Farmer Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill.
• The Essential Commodities Amendment Act of 2020.
• Trade and Commerce Promotement and Facilitation Bill, 2020.

Legislation about COVID-19

• Bill amending ministers’ salaries and allowance. Parliamentary Salary, Allowances, and Pension Amendment Bill, 2020.
• To amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 2020.

Accessibility for doing business

• The Second Amendment to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2020.
• Bill, 2020: Taxation and Other Laws, Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions
• 2020’s Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill. It’s called the Companies Amendment Bill 2020.

Restructuring of the Labour sector

• a bill amending the Foreign Contribution Regulations in 2020 
• The 2020 Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Environment Code.
• The Social Security 2020 Code of Ethics.
• Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2020

The medical field

• Indian Medicine Central Council Amendment Bill, 2020.
• The 2019 National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill
• Legislation amending the Homoeopathic Central Council
• 2019’s National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill

In the field of education

• National Forensic Sciences University Bill 2020. 
• Legislation for establishing the Rashtriya Raksha University is scheduled to take effect in 2020.
• The Ayurveda Research and Education Institute Bill, 2020.
• Bill amending laws governing the Indian Institutes of Information Technology

The following is a list of everything else

• Aircraft Amendment Bill 2020.
• Official languages of Jammu & Kashmir, 2020.
• Amendments to the Banking Regulation Act of 2020.

Conclusion

According to Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, who served as Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. A great reservation must be maintained at all costs. The only difference is that he didn’t enlarge the scope of reservation or the length of the system by more than 10 years, as he had done in the previous amendments to Article 334 and 126th Amendment Bill. A lack of social strength in the face of reservations falls far short of the constitutionally mandated principle of equality. Beyond the political domain, there is an urgent need to take action in the social, cultural, and economic sectors and the political arena.