Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 23 (PTI) The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to include the Christian Nadar community in the state, except people belonging to South Indian United Church (SIUC), in the state OBC list.

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A cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, decided to amend the Kerala State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1958 with retrospective effect from 15 August, 2021 to include the community in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list.

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The decision was taken after the states regained the power to include backward communities in the OBC list following the passage of the 127th Amendment to the Constitution by Parliament.

The government had on February 6, 2021 issued an order listing all Christian Nadars, except SIUCs, in the state OBC list.

However, the High Court had stayed the order on a plea seeking to quash the decision, contending that the states do not have the power to include communities in the OBC list.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)