Bill granting Constitutional status to NCBC gets LS nod
A crucial bill to provide constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes was passed unanimously by the Lok Sabha on Thursday with over two-third majority.
By : migrator
Update: 2018-08-02 23:20 GMT
New Delhi
The House passed the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill 2017, superseding the amendments by the Rajya Sabha, with all 406 present voting in favour after an almost fivehour debate in which 32 members participated. The passage of this major legislation comes ahead of the general election due early next year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present during the voting, congratulated Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot for successfully piloting the bill.
During the debate on the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill 2017, several members demanded a census to ascertain the population of other backward classes (OBCs) while some others pressed for making public the socio-economic survey of 2014. Over two-thirds majority voted in favour of the bill, which is a necessity for amending the Constitution. Gehlot said the Union Cabinet had on Wednesday decided to amend the SC/ST Act to further strengthen the law to protect their rights. The bill provides for granting of constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) on par with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
FORWARD STEPS
- A committee under Justice G Rohini has been set up to examine sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes.
- The government will also ensure that one of the members of the Commission is a woman.
- States will have their own list of OBCs and can incorporate any caste into the OBC list but will have to approach the union government for inclusion in the central list.
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