Elections 2019: Eying OBC Vote Bank, MP Congress Govt. Approves 27% Quota for OBCs

Bhopal: With the announcement of 27 per cent quota for the Other Backward Classes (OBC), the Madhya Pradesh Congress government has taken a giant leap over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, ahead of the general elections.

Political pundits are seeing this move as a game changer for Congress, while many senior bureaucrats have said that the caste-based quota is not legally tenable.

Currently, the state has 15 per cent reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs), 21 per cent for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and 14 per cent for the OBCs. This brings total percentage of the reservation to 50%, in line with the prevailing cut-off, as directed by the Supreme Court. By raising the OBC reservation to 27 per cent (as recommended by the Mandal Commission in 1989) from 14 per cent, and adding the 10 per cent quota for the economically weaker sections from the upper castes (brought in by the Modi government), the total reservation will go up to 73 per cent.

Chief minister Kamal Nath, who announced 27 per cent quota for the OBCs and 10 per cent for the economic weaker section from general category at a public rally in Sagar, said on Thursday that government has formed a cabinet committee to execute the plan.

While addressing the media on Thursday, Nath said, “The committee will decide how feasible the plan is and how helpful it will be for the poor. It will present its report to the state government within a month after holding discussion with various stakeholders. Besides, for 10 per cent quota, government will form a cabinet sub-committee to execute the plan. Whether it would be successful in eliminating poverty, the panel will decide soon.”

Two days after the announcement, Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel singed the final draft of the proposal on Friday, which was sent by the Law and General Administration Department. Now, the state government is chalking out a plan to implement it.

The OBC population in state is 3.70 crore, which is about 53 per cent of the population. According to Census 2011, state's population is 7.26 crore. Similarly, scheduled castes constitute 15.51 per cent, and scheduled tribes constitute 21.1 per cent of Madhya Pradesh's total population. Thus, 87 per cent people from the state belong to SC, ST and OBC.

The move will have major impact in the upcoming general elections, especially in Bundelkhand, Mahakaushal, Malwa and Chambal regions, where the OBC population is massive.

Former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Babu Lal Gaur, who also belongs to OBC category, thanked CM Nath for fulfilling the long pending demand of the OBCs.

But the biggest question looming before the Congress is: Is this quota, much above the 50 per cent limit, constitutional?

Replying to the questions by the reporters on Thursday, CM Nath said that after legal consultation, he could say that when there was no objection raised on the 50 per cent quota, this 27 per cent quota should also be adjusted.

“I have discussed this matter with legal experts. I came to know that when the quota was raised to 50 per cent, nobody challenged it. The entire issue got punctured. Now, they should also consider the 27 per cent quota without any objection,” said the chief minister.

Also read: Ten Questions on 10% Quota for Forward Castes

Caste-based Quotas Above 50% Limit Not Legally Tenable?

The retired bureaucrats Newsclick spoke to said that the 27 per cent OBC reservation in government jobs and educational facilities will be a hard nut to crack for the Congress government. However, the 10 per cent quota for EWS from general category can be implemented because Parliament has amended the Constitution, they said.

Speaking over the issue, former Chief Secretary KS Sharma said on Thursday, “The Indra Sawhney judgement of the Supreme Court of 1992 has put a clear ceiling of 50 per cent on the caste-based reservation. MP has 36 per cent reservation for scheduled castes and tribes. The remaining 14 per cent was for the OBCs. Although the government has announced an increase in quota for OBCs to 27%, it is legally not possible to implement the same.”

Sharma served as the chief secretary during the Digvijaya Singh regime when a similar attempt was made before the 2003 assembly elections by the Congress government. The BJP had then declared Uma Bharti, an OBC leader, as its chief ministerial candidate, and with about 56 per cent of voters coming from backward classes, Singh had announced raising reservations for the community from 14 per cent to 27 per cent. However, this announcement remained on paper.

In an attempt to lure the OBC voters, the BJP gave successive chief ministers in the state from the OBC category. After Uma Bharti, it was Babulal Gaur and then Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Though there have been repeated demands from OBCs to increase the reservation quota, the BJP remained confident that with OBC chief ministers leading the party and government, it would continue to get the support of the huge vote-bank.

Sharma further explained that there are states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh where caste-based quota exceeds 50 per cent. “In these states, governments announced and implemented the quota before the landmark Indra Sawhney Supreme Court judgement,” he said.

Another former chief secretary, on the condition of anonymity, said that the Kamal Nath government could seek help from legal experts, and examine how it can be implemented. But questions will be raised, and there might be difficulties. “Implementation will not be possible.”

CM Constitutes Committee to Implement 10% Quota

In a bid to chalk out the process to implement 10 per cent quota for the EWC in the state, CM Nath constituted a cabinet committee on Thursday, which will decide the process of implementation, regarding the provision made under the 103rd Constitutional Amendment to provide reservation to the economically weaker sections in educational institutions and government jobs.

Minister for Cooperatives, Parliamentary Affairs and GAD [General Administration Department] Govind Singh has been appointed the chairman of the committee. State Health Minister Tulsiram Silawat, Finance Minister Tarun Bhanot and Minister for Narmada Valley Development and Tourism Surendra Singh Baghel are the members of the committee. The additional chief secretary of GAD will be the convenor of the committee.

The Opposition has dubbed it an eyewash ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Reacting over the issue, BJP state spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said, “Congress government is not serious about the quota issue. They first stalled the execution of the 10 per cent quota for upper caste poor. Now, the party is misguiding the public by announcing 27 per cent quota for OBC. This will provoke other castes to approach the court to stake claim to reservation. But, only 10 per cent quota is being cleared by the Centre through a law.”

Also watch: Urmilesh: 10% Reservation For Upper Castes, an Election Gimmick?