JD-U demands JPC to probe OBC reservation

New Delhi, Sep 27: Janata Dal (United) President Sharad Yadav today charged that the reservation for OBC in jobs was not being implemented properly and demanded constition of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate the matter and also holding of a caste-based census.

''We call upon the government to constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate the non-implementation of reservation policy to OBCs and the desirability of exclusion of OBCs from reservation benefits in the background of extremely low percentage representation of OBCs in Central Government services,'' Mr Yadav told reporters here.

He also reiterated the demand to hold caste based census in 2011 to know the actual percentage of each and every caste in Indian population, so as to do justice to those weaker sections that are not adequately represented in Central government services and to facilitate the jobs of the National Commission of Backward Classes to exclude those classes, if there are any, from OBCs list who are more than adequately represented.

Pointing out that the Mandal Commission recommendations to provide reservation to OBCs in jobs was implemented in 1990 and now after 17 years, he charged that the status of OBC reservation in Central government services was ''almost non-existent.'' ''Mandal Commission had found in 1980, that OBCs constitute just around four per cent of Group A and B Central government services.

And the latest Annual Report of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India says that the OBC people constitute just 4.7 per cent of Group A services and 2.3 per cent of Group B services,'' Mr Yadav said.

The JD(U) leader said Group A and B services taken together, the percentage of the OBCs was less than that detected by Mandal Commission way back in 1980, which implied that the policy of reservation was not being implemented honestly.

Regarding people asking NCBC to exclude some castes from OBC lists who got adequate reservation, he said in view of the inadequate representation of OBCs in government services, the question was not valid.

He also alleged that efforts were being made to deny reservations to OBC population in the Central government educational institutions.

Asserting that the Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan was a manifestation of non-implementation of the OBC reservation, he said by denying OBCs their due, the nation has been put on the volcano.

UNI