Bill Hiking OBC Reservation To 27 Per Cent Cleared By Madhya Pradesh Assembly; Total Reservation Goes Up To 73 Per Cent

The Madhya Pradesh Public Service (Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes) Amendment Bill 2019, which will increase government sector jobs and education quotas for communities coming under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category to 27 per cent, has been unanimously cleared by the state assembly, reports The New Indian Express.

Previously, the OBC quota in the state was 14 per cent, and there had been demands to hike this considering communities under the category formed 52 per cent of the state’s population.

During the assembly debate surrounding the amendment bill, some lawmakers even demanded that the quota be increased to 37 per cent, with others favouring its extension into the private sector as well.

Leader of Opposition from the BJP, Gopal Bhargava, called for the implementation of a creamy layer in the OBC quota. Moreover, he questioned the ruling Congress government of the state about how the quota would have any benefits considering the lack of jobs in Madhya Pradesh.

With this latest hike in the OBC quota, the total percentage of reservation in Madhya Pradesh has gone up to 73 per cent.