New Delhi: A constitutional amendment bill to restore the powers of the states to make their own OBC lists was passed by Parliament on Wednesday.
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar who moved the bill said the legislation will help restore the powers of states to have their own lists of OBCs which was negated by the Supreme Court.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed by the Rajya Sabha as 187 members voted in its favour. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha a day before.
Some amendments moved by the opposition were negated by the Upper House.
The bill was passed after a division vote with 187 members voting in favour. No member voted against it.
Earlier, participating in the discussion on a Constitution amendment bill in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, the opposition demanded a caste based census and removal of the cap of 50 percent on reservations as the House unanimously passed the OBC Bill.
Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said that the reservation cap should be removed which is now 50 percent. If it is not removed then the purpose of the bill will be defeated as the states should get the power to increase the reservation.
While Abhishek Manu Singhvi and RJD Manoj Kumar Jha demanded a caste census in the country to ascertain the number of OBCs, the opposition got a harsh riposte from the government with Sushil Modi of the BJP claiming that the whole OBC reservation came into existence due to the efforts of the BJP.
Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said the Uttar Pradesh government is planning to remove Yadavs, Kurmis and Gujjars from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list.
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Seventh Amendment) Bill 2021.
It aims to restore the power that allowed states and Union Territories (UTs) to make their own OBC lists. It was demanded by a number of regional parties and even the ruling party’s own OBC
leaders.