Bitter Battle for OBC votes begins, Modi govt. may table Rohini Commission report
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may have bounced back after lying low for several weeks by releasing the report of Caste survey, the Modi government has the ace in its hands too. If sources in the government are to be believed, the Modi government may table the report of the Justice Rohini Commission regarding the sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as to how the benefits reach to the most backwards amongst the OBCs. The commission was established in 2017 and headed by retired Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, G Rohini to identify all Other Backward Castes (OBCs) and to formulate the method, basis, and criteria for a fair distribution of benefits among all the OBCs.
It is interesting that neither the Modi government nor the ruling BJP has officially commented on the caste survey released by the Bihar government. A senior BJP leader, on the condition of not being named, said that the Modi government's track record in giving representations to the OBCs has been far better than other governments at the Centre. In the present Union Council of Ministers, 27 Union Ministers belong to the OBC, 12 are Scheduled Castes and eight are Tribals. There are 85 Mps in the Lok Sabha out of 303 (27%). The trash-hold limit for OBCs in government jobs had been fixed at 27%. There is already a demand that the Supreme Court should review the ceiling of 50% for all kinds of reservations in jobs and benefits. Sources said that the Rohini Commission has suggested ways and means as to how the OBC quota policy include e sub-categorization and not to create a new hierarchy among OBCs.
