Blow to Yogi Adityanath as Modi Government Declares UP Govt's Move to Include 17 OBC Castes in SC List as 'Unconstitutional'
The Modi government on Tuesday declared the Uttar Pradesh government’s move to include 17 communities belonging to the OBCs in the SC list as "unconstitutional".
New Delhi, July 2: In a blow to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Modi government on Tuesday declared the Uttar Pradesh government’s move to include 17 communities belonging to the Other Backward Classes in the Scheduled Castes (SC) list as "unconstitutional". Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Thawar Chand Gehlot assured the Rajya Sabha that he would request the UP government to take back its decision.
The UP government had on June 24 directed district magistrates and commissioners to issue SC certificates to 17 OBCs – Kashyap, Rajbhar, Dhivar, Bind, Kumhar, Kahar, Kewat, Nishad, Bhar, Mallah, Prajapati, Dhimar, Batham, Turha, Godia, Manjhi and Machua. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)’s Rajya Sabha MP Satish Chandra Mishra raised the issue and said only Parliament has powers to alter the list of Scheduled Castes.
Yesterday, BSP chief Mayawati hit out at the Yogi Adityanath government, calling the contentious move "and politically motivated". Mayawati said the move will not bring any benefits for OBC groups and Yogi Adityanath had deceived them. "No government can include or remove any caste from the Scheduled Caste list. Article 341 prevents a government from doing so. Only the President and Parliament have the powers to do so," she stated.
"Part 1 of Article 341 clearly states that the President can specify any group to the SC list through a public notification on the Governor's advice. Part 2 says that if a notification is released under part 1 of Article 341, it can only be changed by Parliament. Part 2 also states that Parliament can specify, include or exclude any group from the SC list," she further explained.
Mayawati urged the Centre to initiate the constitutional procedure to include these groups in the SC list and demanded an increase in the quota limit for them. Notably, former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati herself had attempted to include these communities in the SC list during their regime. However, the move was vetoed by the Centre.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 02, 2019 04:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).