The BJP government in Rajasthan has promulgated an ordinance for constituting a new Other Backward Classes (OBC) Commission, two days after the High Court ordered the dissolution of the previous one because it was not backed by legislation.
But the ordinance, which was promulgated late on Friday night after Governor Kalyan Singh gave his approval, has nominated the chairperson, member-secretary and members of the previous commission to the new body.
On Wednesday, the High Court directed the government to constitute a new commission, backed by legislation, by January 15, 2017, and stopped the payment of salary and allowances to the commission members.
The order came on a writ petition filed by Samata Andolan, which had challenged the establishment of the commission through an executive order. Though a draft Bill to replace the executive order was tabled in the Assembly, the government took the ordinance route for the legislative backing.
Jats will benefitThe prompt decision to give statutory backing to the commission will help to continue the survey to assess the condition of Jats in Bharatpur and Dholpur districts so as to give them the OBC status.
