OBC list: Activity picks up in Karnataka after amendment Bill restores power

State now gets a free hand to redraw the caste matrix with 50% cap on quota

The passage of a Constitutional Amendment Bill to restore powers of States to draw their list of backward classes on Tuesday comes at a time when Karnataka is witnessing a churn among in the midst of politics over the Socio Economic Survey of Castes (Caste Census) report. The State, which had been grappling with several issues of reclassification, addition and deletion of castes from the list, now gets a free hand to redraw the caste matrix with 50% reservation cap, though experts believe there will not be any immediate fallout in the State, unlike in a few others. A day after the passage of the Bill, Backward Classes Commission chairman K. Jayaprakash Hegde met Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai briefly. “There was a hitch till now as the State government did not have powers. Our work had slowed down. We have to start working on matters that are before the commission,” Mr. Hegde told The Hindu. Addition of about four to five small castes, and reclassification of certain semi-nomadic and nomadic tribes are before the commission along with the demand for reclassification of Panchamasalis, he added. “The caste census report also has to be looked into,” he added.