Haryana hikes creamy layer ceiling, adds new OBC quota ahead of polls

Haryana Government increases OBC benefits, introduces new quota, and raises creamy layer ceiling ahead of Assembly polls.

Ahead of the Assembly poll slated for later this year, the Haryana Government on Tuesday hiked the creamy layer ceiling for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from an annual income of ₹6 lakh to ₹8 lakh and introduced a 5% quota for the OBC-B category in Panchayati Raj Institutions and municipalities. Union Home Minister Amit Shah made the announcement at a — ‘Backward Class Samman Sameelan’ — in Mahendragarh. The Haryana Government has also issued a notification on increase in creamy layer ceiling for OBCs.

OBCs in Haryana are estimated at around 40% of the State’s population and comprise 78 castes. With an eye on this huge vote bank ahead of the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls, the BJP replaced Manohar Lal, a Punjabi, and appointed OBC leader Nayab Saini as its Chief Minister in March this year. Two of the three Haryana ministers in the present National Democratic Alliance government — Ministers of State Rao Inderjit and Krishan Pal Gurjar — also belong to the Backward Classes.

Mr. Shah said the 5% reservation for the OBC-B category would be in addition to the 8% quota for the OBC-A category already in force.

Calling upon OBCs to give the BJP a full majority government in Haryana, the Union Home Minister said the BJP had given the country its first strong Prime Minister from the Backward Classes, and 27 ministers, including two from Haryana, in the 71-member Union Cabinet are also from the Backward Class.

He added that Mr. Modi provided constitutional rights to the community by setting up the OBC Commission and giving them 27% reservation in Kendriya, Navodaya Vidyalayas, and Sainik Schools.

Mr. Shah attacked the Congress for being “anti-OBC” and opposing the Mandal Commission on reservation for the Backward Classes. He said the BJP would never allow the OBC quota to be shared with Muslims which is happening in Karnataka.

He said former Congress Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda remembered OBCs only during the elections, and his party had nothing to offer except casteism and corruption. He mocked the Haryana Congress’ campaign called ‘Haryana Maange Hisaab’ which features a 15-point chargesheet against the BJP. The Home Minister said that being a “baniya,” he had with him an account of every penny spent in the State, adding that it was, in fact, time for the Congress to account for its ten-years of “misrule.”