Explore Business Standard
OBC Reservation
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday told the state Assembly that backwardness is the only benchmark to decide the OBC status of people. Maintaining that a disinformation campaign is continuing on social media by some quarters, she asserted that there is no connection with religion in deciding the inclusion of any person in the OBC category. Noting that the only benchmark for deciding OBC status in the state is backwardness, Banerjee said that a commission set up by the government is holding a survey on 50 new subsections for inclusion in that category. The chief minister said that 49 subsections have been included under the OBC-A and 91 under OBC-B categories. She said that while more backward sections of people have been included under OBC-A, the less backward people come under OBC-B. The chief minister addressed the House after laying the annual report of the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes for the financial year 2024-25. Banerjee said that all ...
The cabinet on Monday approved recommendations of the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes (WBCBC) to include 76 new castes on the list for OBC, an official said. These 76 new castes would be added to the existing 64 ethnic groups on the Other Backward Class (OBC) list in the state, he said. The cabinet also gave its nod to a proposal to make Farakka a new subdivision in Murshidabad district, he said. It was learned that the new subdivision would be constituted of Farakka, Shamsherganj, Suti-1 and Suti-2 blocks, he said. Earlier, these four blocks were part of the Jangipur subdivision. "Due to the growing population, the Jangipur subdivision authorities were facing difficulties in executing administrative work in the vast area. Hence, the decision was taken," the official told PTI. A source in Nabanna, the state secretariat, said that the council of ministers approved a decision to initiate a tendering process again to invite fresh bids for the proposed Rs 25,000-crore Ta
The Congress on Thursday suggested that the government can collect caste-wise data of the OBC population in the next Census by just adding an extra column as every such exercise since 1951 has been collecting data on the population of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The opposition party said such a move will give more solid foundation to affirmative action programmes. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X a report in The Hindu which said the Union government is yet to take a call on conducting the next Census exercise but active discussion is on to expand the data collection to include caste enumeration. "India has been conducting a Census regularly every ten years. The last such Census was due in 2021. The continuing failure to conduct this 2021 Census has meant that vital information necessary for economic planning and for social justice programmes has not been collected," Ramesh said on X. As a result, for instance, over 12 crore ..
Maintaining that it will provide "significant benefits" in employment for the OBC category, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini Sunday announced an increase in annual income limit for creamy layer from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh. Saini was addressing a gathering at 'OBC Morcha Sarv Samaj Samrasta Sammelan' held in Gurugram. The move comes months before Haryana Assembly polls likely to be held in October. "With the key aim of ensuring the welfare of the OBC community in Haryana and providing substantial benefits to the youth in government jobs, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh today made a series of pivotal announcements," an official statement said. The chief minister also announced that the reservation for the backward classes in Group-A and Group-B posts, currently at 15 per cent, will be increased to 27 per cent, "in line with the Central government's policy". Besides this, the backlog of vacancies for backward class in Group-A and B category jobs will be filled on a priorit
Three Maharashtra ministers and a member of the legislative council on Friday met OBC activists Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare and urged them to end their fast, which entered the ninth day. The delegation comprising ministers Atul Save, Uday Samant and Girish Mahajan, and MLC Gopichand Padalkar met the activists at the protest site at Wadigodri village in Jalna district. Newly-elected Shiv Sena MP Sandipan Bhumre was also present. Mahajan also called up Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis from the stage and made them talk to the protesting activists. Later, Padalkar said a meeting between a delegation of the OBC (Other Backward Classes) community and the government has been organised in Mumbai. Mahajan said five OBC leaders named by Hake will attend the meeting at 5 pm. A way can be worked out only after talks. The government will not let injustice happen to anyone, he said. However, Hake and Waghmare, who have been fasting since June 13, refused to hal
Veteran OBC leader and Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal has reiterated that the Marathas cannot be given reservation from the quota for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community. Talking to reporters on Monday, the state's food and civil supplies minister also renewed his demand for a caste census in the state. Bhujbal's statement has come amid the stir by quota activists Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare, who have been on hunger strike for the last six days. On Monday, a government delegation met Hake and Waghmare, urging them to end their fast, but they refused. The agitators said they are not against the reservation for Marathas, but it should not disturb the OBC quota. Bhujbal said, "The Maratha community cannot be given reservation from the OBC quota. We are not saying this, but the past four commissions (on reservation) have stated the same. Even the Supreme Court said no to it." Now there is again a demand for reservation from the OBC (quota), he said, referring to the
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pankaja Munde on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to seriously address the issues being raised by OBC protesters Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare, who have been on a hunger strike here for the past five days. The protesters, from various OBC outfits, have sought the scrapping of the government's draft notification of 'sage soyare' (blood relatives) in connection with giving Kunbi certificates to Marathas to allow the community members to avail quota benefits. Taking to social media platform X, Munde expressed concern over the unequal treatment of protestors and urged the government to ensure equal rights for all. Pointing out to the deteriorating health of Hake and Waghmre, who have refused to even drink water, Munde said, "The government should not discriminate among protestors. Everyone has the right to be heard and treated fairly." Hake alleged the state government was giving preferential treatment to Manoj Jarange, who is leading a stir for
The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) has recommended an increase in the reservation quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in public employment in Punjab and West Bengal. The Commission's decision comes after a review of the current reservation policies, oral statements, and documentary evidence, aiming to align with the directives laid out by the Supreme Court in the Indra Sawhney case, according to an advisory. Currently, Punjab allocates 25 per cent of public employment positions to Scheduled Castes and 12 per cent to OBCs, totalling 37 per cent reservation. The NCBC has proposed enhancing the OBC quota by an additional 13 per cent, bringing the total OBC reservation in public employment to 25 per cent. This adjustment will adhere to the Supreme Court's ceiling of up to 50 per cent reservation for socially and educationally backward classes. D K Tiwari, Additional Chief Secretary of the Punjab Government, appeared before the NCBC on February 22, expressing the .
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the Narendra Modi government of attempting to marginalise the SCs, STs, and OBCs. Speaking at a rally in support of TMC candidate Mahua Moitra at Tehatta in Nadia district, Banerjee criticised the BJP government's 'falsehoods' about citizenship benefits for marginalised communities, warning that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) could jeopardise the rights of SCs, STs, and OBCs. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is lying about the benefits of UCC that it will help everybody. Instead, if UCC is implemented, it will put at stake the existence of SCs, STs and OBCs. BJP will destroy the constitution. But rest assured, we will not let it happen," Banerjee said. The TMC chief said for the past 10 years, the BJP has been spreading lies about Matuas and other backward castes getting citizenship through the CAA, which is a ploy to take away one's already existing bona fide citizenship rights and deport them to concentration camps. The ..
BJP president J P Nadda on Friday accused the Congress of seeking to snatch the rights of SCs, STs and OBCs to benefit Muslims, alleging that it is the hidden agenda of the opposition party. Continuing with the BJP's attempts to project the Congress as a party championing interests of Muslims at the cost of traditionally deprived Hindu groups, Nadda said the opposition party has long been making the grounds for the minority community to be declared as SCs and give them reservation. He issued a video statement as the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls got underway. Nadda cited the then prime minister Manmohan Singh's 2006 statement of minorities, especially Muslims, having the first rights on the country's resources and added that he made similar comments in April 2009. The Congress has accused the BJP of selectively quoting Singh and claimed that the ruling party has resorted to spreading falsehoods and communal division for polarisation during the elections due to a lack of publi
Legislators of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi staged a protest on Monday before the start of the Budget session of the Maharashtra legislative assembly, accusing the government of misleading the Maratha and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities. The week-long Budget session of the legislature began on Monday, during which the vote on account will be presented. Assembly elections are due in the state later this year. Leader of Opposition in Assembly Vijay Waddetiwar, Congress legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat and other legislators gathered on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan, displaying banners and shouting slogans against the Eknath Shinde-led government. The Opposition MLAs accused the state government of misleading the Maratha and OBC communities over the issue of quota. MVA comprises the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, while the ruling coalition has the BJP, Shinde-led Shiv Sena and NCP group under Ajit Pawar as partners. Last week, the
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not born in an Other Backward Class family, and he is misleading people by identifying himself as an OBC. Gandhi, while making a brief speech here on the third and concluding day of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' in Odisha, said Modi was born in a family that belonged to the general caste. Modi ji has been misleading the people by saying that he is an OBC. He was born in a family of the Teli caste, which was included in the OBC list during the BJP government's tenure in Gujarat in 2000. Therefore, Modi ji is not an OBC by birth, the Congress MP asserted. Gandhi also alleged that the prime minister does not shake hands with OBCs, but hugs billionaires. Clad in a white t-shirt, the former Congress president resumed the yatra on Thursday from the Old Bus Stand here and moved towards Kissan Chowk in an open jeep. He was accompanied by AICC leader Ajoy Kumar and OPCC president Sarat Pattnayak. The yatra
Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, who has opposed the reservation to Marathas under the OBC grouping, on Sunday said he had submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as he is responsible for the allocation of portfolios. Notably, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has not yet reacted to the announcement made by Bhujbal at a rally on Saturday that he resigned on November 16 but kept mum on the advice of the chief minister and the Deputy chief minister. Deputy CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has said that Bhujbal's resignation has not been accepted. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be able to clarify, he told reporters. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday dubbed Bhujbal's disclosure about his resignation a 'hogwash' and suggested that the NCP leader and BJP were hand in glove. The Shiv Sena led by Shinde, BJP, and the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) are the constituents of the Mahayuti government. Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs of NCP, including Bhujbal, joined t
Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule has said the draft notification on grant of Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas was not final, and leaders from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) can submit their objections. Talking to reporters in Sangli on Tuesday, Bawankule also said the state government was positive about granting reservation to the Maratha community and steps taken by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were appropriate. The draft notification, which the government came out with following activist Manoj Jarange's agitation, has led to OBC leaders including state minister Chhagan Bhujbal to express apprehension that it would facilitate backdoor entry of the Marathas in the OBC category. "The state government has sought suggestions and objections on the draft notification regarding 'sage soyare' (blood relatives), so this notification is not final. If the OBC leaders and others feel there would be injustice, they can convey their objections, and the final decision wil
Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Saturday appeared to target his own government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as he questioned the "backdoor entry" of Marathas into the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community. He also termed the draft notification issued by the state government providing Kunbi certificates to all Marathas as a mere "eyewash", and said caste is determined by birth and not affidavits. The veteran OBC leader was talking to reporters here after Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange called off his indefinite fast in neighbouring Navi Mumbai this morning after the state government accepted his demands over reservation to his community. The state government issued a draft notification this morning to recognise as Kunbis all blood relatives of the Maratha community members whose Kunbi caste records have been found. Kunbi, an agrarian community, falls in the OBC category. Jarange had been demanding Kunbi certificates for all Marathas. Bhujbal, the food and civil