Seeking a comprehensive review of the policy, Krishnaiah demanded the complete removal of the creamy layer condition from BC reservations and corrective measures for candidates affected by its implementation since 2015. Hyderabad: Rajya Sabha MP and National BC Welfare Association president R Krishnaiah has urged PM Narendra Modi to address the injustices suffered by Backward Classes (BCs) over the past decade due to the implementation of the creamy layer criteria in reservations.
He further demanded a separate union ministry for BC Welfare, enactment of a BC Bill providing 50% reservation to BCs in legislatures and enhancement of educational and employment reservations in proportion to their population. In a letter to PM on Monday, Krishnaiah said that while Supreme Court’s latest ruling on the creamy layer was welcome, the injustices and irregularities that had taken place since 2015 should also be rectified to ensure justice to affected BC candidates. He also contended that neither the Mandal Commission nor the nearly 280 BC commissions constituted across the country had recommended the introduction of the creamy layer provision. Despite 78 years of Independence, BC communities had not received their due share in education, employment, economic opportunities, politics, industry and other sectors, he said.
He said that the SC had clarified that salaries of govt employees and agricultural income should not be taken into account while determining creamy layer status. Salaries of employees working in banks, public sector undertakings, corporations and private sector organisations should also be excluded, he said, referring to the court’s observations. Krishnaiah said that reservations were not merely poverty alleviation or economic development programmes but were intended to ensure adequate representation of socially and educationally disadvantaged communities in governance, education and employment. Political and administrative representation, he said, would help improve the social status of BC communities and address caste-based discrimination.