New Delhi: The Constitution (127th Amendment) Bill, 2021 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar, after which the bill was passed unanimously. Opposition parties have also supported this bill. This bill will empower the state governments to prepare the OBC list. Recently, the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved it. This amendment has been demanded by many regional parties as well as OBC leaders of the ruling party.
Bill introduced after Supreme Court’s comment
After the intervention of the Supreme Court, this bill will be introduced in Parliament. In May, the Supreme Court, while hearing the petition, said that only the Center has the right to prepare a list related to the OBC community. However, objections were raised by the central and state governments, after which the central government now wants to legalize it by bringing a constitutional amendment bill.
This will be the effect of the new bill
Once the amendments to Articles 342-A and 366(26)C of the Constitution are ratified in Parliament, states will have the power to notify castes in the OBC category as per their requirements. This may give an opportunity to include the Maratha community in Maharashtra, Patel community in Gujarat, Jat community in Haryana and Lingayat community in Karnataka in the OBC category. All these castes have been demanding reservation for a long time, however, the Supreme Court has stayed these demands.
