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OBC creamy layer cap revised: Amit Shah hails govt's decision, Cong says will adversely affect poor

BJP seeks to reap benefit of increased benefit for OBCs.

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BJP chief Amit Shah on Wednesday cited the Modi government's announcements on benefits for backward classes as evidence of his party's commitment to the holistic development of marginalised sections.

The government's move to have sub-categories within Other Backward Classes (OBC) will give "priority" to the extremely backward groups among the OBCs in reservation and other government schemes, he said in a statement.
The rise in the creamy layer annual income ceiling -- from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh -- will provide reservation and other benefits to a large section of society, he said, terming it a "positive" move towards making these measures "just".

Shah said a number of BJP governments in different states had made provision for sub-categorisation and their results had been "very beneficial". As many as 11 states had implemented it, he added. "The provision of sub-categories will give priority to those castes among backward castes that need reservation and other benefits more due to their economic backwardness," he said. The committee, which was formed by the government today to examine the possibility of a sub-quota for the most marginalised communities within the OBCs, will give in 12 weeks its recommendations based on which sub-categories will be created, he said.

"The decision of the Modi government shows the BJP's and its government's sensitivity and commitment to the holistic development of backwards and different social classes," he said. In the statement, the BJP president also referred to a government bill, which seeks to accord constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes and which was stalled by the Congress in the Rajya Sabha. It was a historic step, he said, expressing confidence that the government would get it passed in Parliament soon.

 The Congress today adopted a cautious approach on the increase in the 'creamy layer' income ceiling for OBCs and urged the government to seriously address the issue, saying it would adversely affect the poor and needy sections of society. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the government was creating "reservation within reservation" and raising the limit for creamy layer among OBCs will lead to the poor and needy not getting the benefits.

He, however, said the opposition party was studying the implications of raising the 'creamy layer' limit for OBCs and would come out with a detailed response later. "It is the poor and the needy in society who need the job reservations. By raising the 'creamy layer' limit, is the BJP government not depriving the poor from getting job benefits? "When limits are raised to Rs 8 lakh, are you not giving the benefits to the rich and in the bargain the children of the poor will not get the benefit of jobs and reservation and will be left out," he told reporters.

Surjewala said the government and the prime minister and his Cabinet should seriously dwell on this aspect to ensure the poor are not left out of reservation benefits. The Union Cabinet today increased the 'creamy layer' ceiling for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category to Rs 8 lakh per annum from the existing Rs 6 lakh for central government jobs. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said those in the OBC category earning up to Rs 8 lakh per annum would now get reservation benefits

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