Centre vetoes OBC inclusion in SC list

NEW DELHI: With Congress-BSP tussle heading towards a climax, the Centre seems in no mood to indulge chief minister Mayawati on her demand for the inclusion of a clutch of OBCs in the Scheduled Castes list. Mayawati's demand to change "boatmen" and its synonym castes, Rajbhars and 10 other backward castes into Dalits has resulted in a strong rejoinder from the Union social justice ministry which, while detailing the untenability of the demand, also hinted at how BSP government had changed its stance on the issue in a matter of one year. It could prove another point of contention in the fast deteriorating relations between Congress and the BSP, as the Dalit outfit tries to use it to win over OBCs. The importance of the state's proposal in BSP's political gameplan is reflected in the U-turn Mayawati recently did to embrace an issue she had slammed when initiated by her arch-rival Mulayam Singh Yadav. Yadav, in an unconstitutional move, amended a state law to make these OBCs eligible for benefits given to SCs. Her opposition to Mulayam's move was so strong that she shot off a letter to the Centre within 23 days of coming to power to withdraw the demand. But last month, the BSP chief wrote to PM Manmohan Singh to advocate change in caste status of a clutch of OBCs. The reversal of stance saw her argue, "My government strongly believes these castes should be included among SCs... these castes fulfil the criteria for being in the SC list." She had also sought a hike in quantum of SC quota of 15%. While the PM forwarded Maya-wati's demand to social justice ministry for comments, the rejoinder from Union minister Meira Kumar was stinging. It has asked UP to inform "the circumstances for the demand to put these OBCs in SC list when it had earlier withdrawn its demand and requested for status quo". Politics of the demand apart, the RGI, the expert body on classification of castes, has repeatedly turned down the proposal, a fact hammered by the Centre in its reply to UP. The state had sought inclusion of Bhar/Rajbhars in the SC list in March 2004 but it was rejected by RGI in January 2005. Its request of October 2005 for inclusion of Kumhar/Prajapati in the SC list saw the Centre seek district-wise details.

23 Apr 2008, 0340 hrs IST , Subodh Ghildiyal , TNN
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