question_answer

How was the system of 'reserved constituencies' introduced for the SCs and STs?

Answer:

(i) Some constituencies are reserved for people who belong to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

(ii) In an SC-reserved constituency, only someone who belongs to the scheduled caste can stand for elections.

(iii) Similarly, only those belonging to a scheduled tribe can contest elections from a constituency reserved for STs.

(iv) Currently, 79 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 41 for the Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha.

(v) This number is in proportion to their share in the total population; thus the reserved seats for SCs and STs do not take away the legitimate share of any other social group.