By Dr. Gyan Pathak
In a countermove to INDIA bloc’s caste census promise, the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra taking clue form BJP’s gain in Haryana has decided to take the OBC politics in the state to a new level on the eve of Vidhan Sabha elections likely to be announced soon. How much this decision will benefit the Mahayuti allies – BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde) and NCP (Ajit Pawar)? Or Will INDIA bloc’s caste census promise still work for MVA allies – Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharad Pawar)? Answer to such questions lies in the future, but the moves and countermoves have just rekindled OBC politics in the state.
A decision has been taken by the Maharashtra cabinet on October 10 to recommend increasing the non-creamy layer limit from existing Rs8 lakh to Rs15 lakh, while only a day before on October 9, the National Commission for Backward Classes has recommended as many as 7 communities and their synonyms to be included in Central OBC list.
Maharashtra cabinet’s recommendation has to be approved by the Centre as per rule before the OBC candidates could take benefit from the enhanced income limit. It is precisely for this reason the state cabinet has also decided to send the recommendation to the Centre for approval. Additionally, the income limit is fixed by the department of personnel and training of the Union of India. It should be noted that OBC candidates desiring to take benefits from the provisions of reservation and schemes need a ‘non-creamy layer’ certificate from a competent authority.
Though the immediate trigger for the decision of the Maharashtra cabinet seems to be the election outcome in Haryana where BJP could win a losing battle against the Congress by consolidating the OBC votes, especially the marginal OBC castes, the issue has been there in Maharashtra for quite some time.
Even during the Union Budget session, BJP leader and State Minister in charge of the OBC Bahujan Welfare Department Atul Moreshwar Save had said in view of the Mahayuti’s setback during the Lok Sabha election 2024 , the state would raise the demand for increasing the creamy layer income limit for OBCs.
State Minister for OBC welfare and BJP leader Save had also said that due to the rise in government salaries after the 7th Pay Commission, the salaries of government employees had increased. As a result, many OBC candidates of those families could not apply for reservation, scholarships and other schemes.
OBC community leaders are of the opinion that the creamy layer income cap must be increased since the current limit of Rs8 lakh per annum was decided 30 years back. OBC Jan Morcha leader Chandrakant Bavkar has demanded it to be raised to at least Rs30 lakh per annum.
As for the inclusion of 7 OBC communities and their synonyms, the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) chairperson Hansraj Gangaram Ahir has said, “We have cleared these communities to be added to the Central list after conducting hearings over the last six months. Three to four more communities will likely be green-lit in the upcoming weeks.”
The communities cleared by the NCBC for addition to the Central OBC list were already listed in the Maharashtra’s State OBC list and have been eligible for benefits under State schemes and reservation in State appointments. These communities are, “(i) Lodh, Lodha, Lodhi; (ii) Badgujar, (iii) Suryavanshi Gujar, (iv) Leve Gujar, Reve Gujar, Reva Gujar; (v) Dangari; (vi) Bhoyar, Pawar (vii) Kapewar, Munnar Kapewar, Munnar Kapu, Telanga, Telangi, Pentarreddy, Bukekari”. The synonyms of some of the communities are already in the Central list. “These communities are part of a total of 21 communities that have been requesting to be added to the Central OBC list,” said NCBC chairman.
It is worth recalling that the era of Mandal I (1979-2006) and Mandal II (2007-2017) witnessed several OBC movements in the country including in Maharashtra. There were many conflicts and disturbances. Several marginal OBC castes across the country demanded their share in reservations alleging that only the dominant OBC communities have garnered all the benefits from reservation. Some communities, such as Marathas in Maharashtra have been demanding OBC status.
Presently, there is 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in Central Government jobs and admission to Central Government Educational institutions and this level of reservation is applicable to the whole country including Maharashtra. However, the State government of Maharashtra had given political reservation to the OBCs in the local bodies like Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis exceeding the upper limit of 50 per cent set by the Supreme Court of India, which had been struck down by the Supreme Court in 2021.
OBC Bahujan Kalyan Department have recently launched several schemes for OBCs among other backward classes, tribes, and SCs, especially after Lok Sabha election setback for the ruling Mahayuti.
INDIA bloc which is called MVA in Maharashtra has been accusing the Mahayuti government of misleading the OBCs and are not giving them their legitimate share but creating differences among the OBC communities. MVA leaders are promising that they will get caste census done to get real picture of the backwardness among OBCs and compensate them accordingly. MVA coalition is hopeful that they will be able to defeat Mahayuti’s politics of caste and communal divisiveness. (IPA Service)
