Constitution amendment bill on socially and educationally backward classes will strengthen federal structure: Minister

New Delhi [India], August 10 (ANI): Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar has said that the constitution amendment bill passed by Lok Sabha on Tuesday will empower states to prepare and maintain their own list of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) and provide them reservation.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill was unanimously passed by the House following a division.
The minister in a tweet thanked the members for strengthening the "federal structure".
"The central government is committed to protecting the interests of the weaker sections and backward classes. This historic step will be definitely successful in providing educational and employment opportunities to the other backward classes," he said.
While replying to the debate on the bill, the minister took a dig at Congress saying that it did not implement the Mandal Commission recommendations and these were implemented after it was voted out of power.
"In 1980, the Mandal Commission had submitted a report in support of the reservation, However, Congress did not implement it. OBC creamy layer limit was also increased for the first time in 2004 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee government," he said.
He said Modi government had fulfilled the demand to give constitutional status to National Commission For Backward Classes (NCBC).
Participating in the debate, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said there is a need to make a mechanism that if a state sees a community as its OBC, the Centre must reflect it.
BJD member Achyutananda Samanta said the bill restores powers of the state government to identify backward classes in the state which has been the demand of many regional parties.
He said the reality of caste is state-specific.
"Some communities are dominant in one state but poor in the other state. Without this, many socially and backward classes will lose access to reservations in educational institutions and jobs," he said.
The bill was passed by the House with 385 members voting in its favour and none against in the final division.
The opposition parties decided to "cooperate" with the government in passing the bill and suspend their protest in the House for the bill to be passed.
The opposition parties have been protesting and forcing adjournments since the beginning of the monsoon session over their demand for a probe into allegations of surveillance through Pegasus spyware and repeal of farm laws.
Replying to the debate on the bill, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar said the bill seeks to clarify that the state government and Union territories are empowered to prepare and maintain their own list of SEBCs.
The division took place through voting slips as the House has a special seating arrangement as part of precautions against COVID-19 and the automatic vote recorder could not be used.
The process of providing voting slips to members and collecting them took time.
Responding to the demands for increasing reservation beyond 50 per cent, the minister said the government understands the feelings of members. He said the courts have repeatedly emphasised this ceiling and there is a need to give attention to the constitutional aspects. (ANI)