Once the new bill gets passage through the parliament, all states and UTs will have power to draw up their own OBC list.
Amid the ongoing deadlock between the centre and the opposition parties over various issues, a constitution amendment bill that gives states the right to make their own list of Other Backward Classes got the assent of the Opposition. This comes at a time when the opposition parties have been targeting the government since the beginning of the monsoon session over matters such as the farmers’ protest and the alleged Pegasus spyware scandal.
Though a constitutional amendment bill requires two-thirds majority to get passed in the parliament, the passage of the bill will not be an issue since the opposition has come on board.
RJD MP in the upper house Prof Manoj Jha said: “This is a big issue, we are going to support the centre on it. And we will also push for caste-based census.”
“Running Parliament is centre’s responsibility. This bill will allow states the right to make their own Other Backward Classes (OBC) list,” Mr Sinha added.
This issue has been taken up by the cabinet after the Apex Court, during a hearing on the issue of Maratha reservation in Maharashtra in May, had categorically said that only the central government can prepare a single list of Other Backward Classes.
The Supreme Court had said that a law passed in 2018 had given power only to the centre to draw up the OBC list, and the states could only ask for inclusion in the list.
Once the new bill gets passage through the parliament, all states and UTs will have power to draw up their own OBC list, which can be distinct from the central list.
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