‘Governments could include even forward castes in the BC list to get their support in polls’
Andhra Pradesh Backward Classes Sangham president Kesana Sankara Rao has said that more discussions should have been held before Parliament unanimously approved the 127th Constitutional Amendment Bill granting power to the States for changes and inclusion in the BC list.
Addressing the media here on Wednesday, Mr. Sankara Rao said that the governments in various States could misuse the power to include even forward castes, in the BC list to secure their support in elections. He demanded that the 127th amendment have strong safeguards to prevent such misuse by the State governments.
Citing an example, he said that the previous government in the State had passed a resolution including Kapus in BC list, even before the Manjunadh Commission gave its report. This was nothing but vote bank politics, he said.
Referring to the announcement of Union Minister Veerendra Kumar that the amendment has provided an opportunity for inclusion of 671 castes in various States in the BC list, Mr. Sankara Rao said that reservations should be on the basis of social and educational backwardness and not on economic grounds.
He said that the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) was formed through the 102nd amendment of the Constitution. New Articles 338 B and 342 A were formed and the Amendment was being implemented with effect from August 2018. Article 338 B defines the constitution of NCBC, its role and powers. Article 342 A defines that inclusion of any caste in the BC list on the basis of social or educational backwardness could be done only by the President.
The new amendment empowers the States to make changes or include new castes in the BC list, without the intervention of either the President or Parliament. Mr. Sankara Rao demanded that the Centre gather caste-wise population statistics. He said that the Sangham has filed a case in the Supreme Court on the issue.
He said that the Centre was already implementing 27% reservation for OBCs. The number of castes in the BC list, which was 92 in the past, has increased to 132. Though the number of castes was increasing the percentage of reservation has remained the same. He sought that the percentage of reservation should be increased based on the addition of new castes.
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