With an eye to blunt the opposition attack and woo the huge caste vote bank, the government has started the process of getting two key legislation passed. On Thursday, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot moved the Constitutional Amendment Bill, which will grant constitutional status to the OBC Commission. The second bill being readied to be presented in the Parliament is the SC/ST Amendment Bill, which will override the Supreme Court judgement on the use of penal provisions under the law.
When passed, both these bills will give the Modi government and the BJP bragging powers to tell the electorate that it has delivered on key promises. The OBCs and dalits are the key groups which form the bulwark of some of the regional parties like SP, RJD, BSP, who, through strategic alliances, are posing a challenge to the BJP. By pushing these two bills, the BJP aims to send the message that the party was there to deliver when demanded. Together, the OBCs and dalits constitute around 17 per cent of the country's population.
The immediate gain of bringing the SC/ST Amendment Bill, which is likely to be tabled in the next few days, is that the government will be able to invalidate the protests planned by the dalit groups against the dilution of the Atrocities Act after the Supreme Court judgment.
Introducing the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-third Amendment) Bill, 2017, Gehlot said it will help the OBC community in getting their rights. All the benefits given to the SC/STs, like scholarships, will also be extended to the backward classes as well, he added.
The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) will have the power to suggest the inclusion or exclusion of communities with the backward class category. It will also have the power of a civil court to decide on the complaints and welfare measures for the backward classes.
During the debate, almost all the parties supported the bill reminded the promises made by various governments to give full benefits of the reservation to all the OBCs, but failed to deliver. Many MPs demanded that a woman and member of the minority community be made part of the commission.
The government later accepted the demand and added these provisions be adopted when rules were to be framed.
Gehlot, during his speech, made a case of extending the benefit of reservations to all sections of the OBCs. He added that the attempt was being made to introduce reservation in Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University. As these two universities were termed minority institutions, the reservation clauses did not apply on them. The minority status to these institutions has already been challenged in the courts.
Earlier during the proceedings, Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge demanded that the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities ordinance be brought soon in Parliament. Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, "The government had already approved the bill and will get it passed during the current session.”