Centre moves bill in Lok Sabha for new commission for OBCs

New Delhi: Close on the heels of a thumping electoral victory in Uttar Pradesh, where Other Backward Classes (OBCs) are believed to have supported the BJP in large numbers, the government introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday to create a new commission with constitutional status for OBCs on the lines of the SC/ST Commission.

The bill — Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill — tabled by social justice minister Thaawarchand Gehlot reflects the BJP’s aggressive outreach policy to consolidate its base among the numerically significant OBCs. While the Mandal Commission (1980) put the OBCs at 52 per cent of the country’s population, according to the National Sample Survey, 2006, OBCs constitute 41 per cent.

The bill will now require the support of two-third members of the House for its passage.

The plan to replace National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) with National Commission for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (NSEBC), a constitutional body, has already received the Cabinet’s assent on March 24.

Till now the welfare of OBCs was being looked after by the NCBC, set up in 1993 as a statutory body under the ministry of social justice and empowerment. But its role was limited to examining requests for inclusion of castes as OBCs and hear complaints of over- or under-inclusion and render advice to the central government.

Constitutional status for the body representing OBCs, on par with the National Commission for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (NCSC&ST), has been a long-standing demand. The proposed NSEBC would derive its power directly from the Constitution and any change in the mechanism would require a constitutional amendment.

The NSEBS will have the mandate to “investigate and monitor” all matters and specific complaints relating to the rights and safety of the OBCs. It will also have to present reports to the President which shall be tabled in Parliament, followed by the government’s action taken reports.

Just like the SC/ST Commission, the proposed NSEBS will also have the power to summon and enforce attendance of any person or entity, receive evidence, seek documents and issue commissions for examination of witnesses and documents.

The move is expected to reap further political dividends for the BJP as Assembly elections are due this year in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, while Karnataka goes to the hustings in 2018. Many communities, like the Jats in Haryana and Patels in Gujarat, have been seeking inclusion in the OBC list.

Interestingly, the core support base of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar has been the Yadavs who are also OBCs.

Proposed NSEBC to be a Constitution-backed 5-member panel including a chairperson, a vice-chairperson and three members.

Mandate:

• Investigate, monitor all matters relating to safeguards for OBCs
• Inquire specific complaints with regard to deprivation of rights for OBCs
• Advise on socio-economic development of OBCs and evaluate progress of their development
• Present annual and other reports to the President
• Recommend govt on measures to safeguard OBC rights

Powers:

• All powers of a civil court
• Summon and enforce attendance of any person from any part of the country
• Order discovery and production of any document
• Receive evidence on affidavits
• Issue commissions for examination of witnesses and documents