Bengal OBC Quota Cut To 7% As Suvendu Govt Drops Muslim Groups From Mamata-Era List

Kolkata: The West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari government has made a major change to the state's OBC reservation policy. The government has reduced the total OBC reservation from 17 per cent to 7 per cent. It has also decided to immediately end OBC benefits provided to Muslim communities.

Who will be given reservation under the new policy?

According to the government, previously, there was a 10 per cent reservation for OBC Category A and a 7 per cent reservation for OBC Category B. Now, only a 7 per cent reservation will apply. 

Under the new policy, this reservation will only be given to "genuinely backward Hindu communities" that do not fall into the SC and ST categories. Now, a total of 66 castes/communities in Bengal will fall under the OBC reservation category. Only these will benefit from the 7 per cent reservation in government jobs and other government positions.

What did the government claim?

The state government claimed that the inclusion of Muslim communities in the OBC list by previous governments was legally weak and motivated by “vote bank politics.” The government also cited observations by the Calcutta High Court, which declared the inclusion of several Muslim groups in the OBC list unconstitutional.

The new system will be implemented immediately in government jobs and educational institutions. The opposition has criticized the decision, while the BJP government is calling it a constitutional reform.

What was 2010 formula?

The Suvendu Adhikari government has implemented the 2010 OBC reservation formula. The West Bengal government has removed all the castes that former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had included in the OBC (Other Backward Class) list. This included several Muslim castes.