Following strong calls from MPs in a Parliamentary committee meeting to resolve the issue of "discrimination" in determining the "creamy layer" for OBC reservation, the panel has scheduled another discussion for later this month, reported TOI. However, it has now emerged that the Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of OBCs had previously addressed the same issue in detail five years ago, ruling against including "salary" in the calculation of "income" for the purpose of reservations. Interestingly, the committee at that time was also chaired by its current head, BJP MP Ganesh Singh.
Sources informed to TOI that the committee has summoned the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for a meeting on November 28, where the issue of factoring in "salary" for backward candidates from public sector undertakings (PSUs) qualifying for the UPSC exams will be discussed.
During Wednesday's meeting, MPs including DMK's TR Baalu, Congress' Manickam Tagore, SP's Ramashankar Rajbhar, and a senior BJP member criticised what they described as a violation of the 1993 Office Memorandum (OM), which explicitly states that "income" should not include "salary" or "agricultural income." The controversy centres around the government's practice of including "salary" for candidates whose parents work in PSUs, citing the lack of an "equivalence of posts" with government positions such as Group A, B, C, and D, noted a TOI report.
The MPs also raised concerns over the stagnation of the OBC income ceiling for reservation eligibility, pointing out that it has remained unchanged at Rs 8 lakh since 2017.
The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year in favour of permitting sub-classification of SCs and STs by states to ensure quotas for castes that are more backward among them. Four out of the six judges who agreed that states are empowered to make sub-classifications wrote in their separate judgments that those in the creamy layer must be excluded from enjoying the benefits of reservation.
Sources informed to TOI that the committee has summoned the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for a meeting on November 28, where the issue of factoring in "salary" for backward candidates from public sector undertakings (PSUs) qualifying for the UPSC exams will be discussed.
During Wednesday's meeting, MPs including DMK's TR Baalu, Congress' Manickam Tagore, SP's Ramashankar Rajbhar, and a senior BJP member criticised what they described as a violation of the 1993 Office Memorandum (OM), which explicitly states that "income" should not include "salary" or "agricultural income." The controversy centres around the government's practice of including "salary" for candidates whose parents work in PSUs, citing the lack of an "equivalence of posts" with government positions such as Group A, B, C, and D, noted a TOI report.
The MPs also raised concerns over the stagnation of the OBC income ceiling for reservation eligibility, pointing out that it has remained unchanged at Rs 8 lakh since 2017.
The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year in favour of permitting sub-classification of SCs and STs by states to ensure quotas for castes that are more backward among them. Four out of the six judges who agreed that states are empowered to make sub-classifications wrote in their separate judgments that those in the creamy layer must be excluded from enjoying the benefits of reservation.
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