Passage of NCBC bill historic: Shah

BJP president Amit Shah today hailed as "historic" the passage of a bill which grants constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes and said it underlines the Modi government's commitment to the progress of Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Soon after the Rajya Sabha passed the bill, Shah was joined by several Cabinet ministers as he told reporters that the government has fulfilled a demand which the backward classes had been making since 1955 but no other government paid heed to.

It has given respect and justice to the OBC community by fulfilling their long-pending demand, he said.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given justice to the backward community, which was deprived of developments for decades since independence, with the legislation that grants constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes," he said.

The passage of the bill will herald a new chapter in the development of the backward community, he said, claiming that it will be written in "golden letters" when the history of Dalits, tribals and backward community is written.

The OBC community has now got a constitutional forum to address their grievances, Shah said.

The Modi government has taken a number of steps for the development of the poor, villages, Dalits, tribals and the backwards, he said.

The Lok Sabha had passed the bill last week.

The BJP believes that the legislation will be a major political plank for the party to woo numerically strong OBC as it gears up for key state elections followed by the Lok Sabha polls next year.