- The Union government introduced a new Bill in the Lok Sabha that seeks to accord constitutional status to the Backward Classes Commission, which now has only statutory powers.
- This will bring the body, which looks after the interests of Other Backward Classes, on a par with that of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes Commission, and give powers to Parliament to designate castes as OBCs.
- Social Justice Minister introduced the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill, a move seen as part of the ruling BJP’s aggressive outreach to politically crucial other backward castes.
Mandate
- The proposed commission will have a chairperson, vice-chairperson and three other members and will hear the grievances of socially and educationally backward classes, a function discharged so far by the Scheduled Castes commission.
- At present, the functions of the commission are limited to examining the requests for inclusion of any class of citizens as a backward class and hear complaints of over-inclusion or under-inclusion of any backward class in the existing quota and advise the Central government, the Constitution Amendment Bill said.
- “In order to safeguard the interests of the socially and educationally backward classes more effectively, it is proposed to create a National Commission for Backward Classes with constitutional status at par with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes,” the Bill states in its intent.
- The Bill will require the support of two-thirds of the members of the House for its passage.
Source: The Hindu