In the Bharatiya Janata Party’s highly centralised structure, there seems to be little space for MPs other than Narendra Modi and Amit Shah...
In the Bharatiya Janata Party’s highly centralised structure, there seems to be little space for MPs other than Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to drive policy. A sudden move by a Lok Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh, Ganesh Singh, has however attempted to shake up this structure.
On July 5, Singh wrote to his fellow BJP MPs from the Other Backward Classes asking them to oppose the Modi government’s move to bring in a significant change to OBC reservations. He even went to the extent of proposing that they make their displeasure public by tweeting to Modi and Shah.
What was the catalyst for such a drastic move?
The Modi government is considering changing the definition of the “creamy layer” for OBCs. Drawing an analogy to the layer of cream that forms on milk, the term refers to a subsection of a backward class who have transcended the caste disability of their community and would not be considered backward in social and educational terms.
As Singh’s revolt shows, this arcane concept is playing a major role in Indian politics at the movement, as the Bharatiya Janata Party grapples with how the creamy layer will be defined. While the details are technical, the outcome might be significant,...
