Obc Quota

Backwardness only benchmark to decide OBC status, not religion: Mamata

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 ...

Bengal cabinet clears addition of 76 castes to OBC list, new subdivision

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

Modi govt should approve bills enhancing BC quota in Telangana: CM Reddy

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday demanded that the Modi government approve state bills aimed at increasing reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in education, employment and local bodies to 42 per cent. Addressing a protest organised by National BC Welfare Associations at Jantar Mantar, Reddy said the state government made several representations to the central government for early approval of the bills, but there has been no response. "Many representations were made to the Centre, but there was no response. Therefore, we are here to protest," he said. The state Legislative Assembly on March 17 passed two bills to increase BC reservation from from 23 per cent to 42 per cent in educational institutions, employment and elections to rural and urban local bodies. The bills require centre's approval as the proposed BC reservation would exceed the 50 per cent cap on quotas. "We have sent the reservation bill to the Centre. We are asking (Prime Minister Narendra) Mo

Kejriwal demands inclusion of Delhi's Jat community in Central OBC list

As Assembly elections draw closer in Delhi, AAP convenor and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday accused the BJP-led Central government of reneging on its promise to provide reservation to the capital's Jat community. Speaking at a press conference, Kejriwal said he wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding the inclusion of Delhi's Jat community in the Central OBC list. He also accused the Centre of misleading the community for the past decade, and failing to deliver on its promises. "In 2015, the BJP invited Jat leaders to the prime minister's residence and assured them that Delhi's Jat community would be included in the Central OBC list. Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised the same in 2019. However, nothing has been done to fulfil these promises," Kejriwal said. Drawing comparisons, he questioned why Jat students from Rajasthan benefit from reservations in Delhi University (DU), while Jat students from Delhi are denied the same. "Thousands of children fro

Cong asks if PM views caste census as divisive, seeks quota ceiling lift

The Congress on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi with questions on Bihar, asking whether he thinks that a caste census is divisive and will he take decisive steps to remove the "arbitrary" 50 per cent ceiling on reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and OBCs. Ahead of the prime minister's engagements in Bihar, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said he has four questions for the PM as he visits Darbhanga. Why was AIIMS Darbhanga so delayed, Ramesh asked. "The AIIMS in Darbhanga was announced by then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Union Budget for 2015-2016. Locals have been waiting for the hospital since then, but it took nine years for work to even begin," Ramesh said in his post on X. It appears that the delay was partly due to the Union Government's insistence on seeking political credit for it, and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's machinations to ensure he benefitted from it, Ramesh alleged. "Will the non-biologic

Gamble or gambit? BJP-led Mahayuti cobbling up non-Maratha caste coalition

The 2024 Lok Sabha polls saw sharp polarisation of Maratha and OBC votes across Maharashtra, particularly in Marathwada, where the BJP-led alliance could win only one of the eight seats

AAP resumes Jai Bhim, Farishtey Yojanas, accuses BJP of stalling them

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced the resumption of Jai Bhim Yojana and Farishtey Yojana and accused the BJP of deliberately stalling these initiatives after his imprisonment. Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said that the Jai Bhim Yojana was one of his government's major efforts to ensure equal education opportunities for underprivileged children. The scheme provides for financial assistance to students from SC, ST, OBC, and economically weaker sections for coaching in IITs and civil services exams. "Coaching for IIT and civil services is very expensive. Our responsibility is to provide equal opportunity for poor children, and this scheme was started to fulfil that purpose. However, after I went to jail, it was deliberately stalled. Today, we are restarting the scheme," Kejriwal said. The scheme will continue to offer a Rs 2,500 stipend to each student and there will be no cap on the number of beneficiaries, Kejriwal said. "We believe the government'

OBC influence in focus as Nayab Singh Saini council takes oath in Haryana

The BJP won an unprecedented 48 seats, its best performance ever, while the Congress secured 37 in the recently concluded Assembly elections

Prakash Ambedkar voices opposition to Maratha reservation from OBC quota

Ambedkar recalled the question he raised during a yatra, which had sought clarity on political parties' stance

Cong MP demands splitting of OBC quota for caste representation in Gujarat

Congress MP Geniben Thakor has demanded that the existing 27 per cent reservation quota in place for the Other Backward Classes be divided into two parts for better representation of all castes under the OBC category in Gujarat. In a letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17, Thakor said the split in OBC quota was necessary because out of the total 146 backward castes in Gujarat, only five to ten castes were getting majority of the benefits while other "extremely backward castes" received only one or two per cent benefits. These extremely backward castes in Gujarat include Thakor, Koli, Vadi, Dabgar, Kharva, Madari, Nat, Salat, Vanzara, Dhobi, Mochi and Vaghri, said Thakor, who represents Banaskantha seat in Parliament as the lone Congress Lok Sabha MP from Gujarat. To end the disparity, Thakor suggested that the 27 per cent OBC quota be split in two parts - 7 per cent quota for those who receive maximum benefits so far and a separate 20 per cent quota for the .

Row over OBC list: WB seeks early hearing of its plea against HC verdict

The West Bengal government on Tuesday sought an urgent hearing on its plea in the Supreme Court against a Calcutta High Court verdict striking down the OBC status of several castes, mostly Muslim groups, for granting reservation to them in public sector jobs and state-run educational institutions. The top court bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud was told by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Trinamool Congress-led state government, that the plea along with other petitions needed to be heard as the issues like issuance of OBC certificate is stalled. The senior counsel said the authorities are unable to issue caste certificates to those seeking quota benefits in admissions, including entry to medical colleges. He said though the cases are listed for hearing in the day's list but they are unlikely to reach. The matters will be there in the board and will be taken up just after the bench concludes hearing the cases listed ahead of them, the CJI said. The case wa

OBC list row: SC may advance hearing on WB's plea against HC verdict

The Supreme Court on Friday said it would consider advancing date of hearing on a plea of the West Bengal government against a Calcutta High Court verdict striking down the OBC status of several castes, mostly Muslim groups, for granting reservation to them in public sector jobs and state-run educational institutions. The top court is scheduled to hear the appeal on September 30 and the litigants, including the Trinamool Congress-led state government, have sought advancing of the date of hearing. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was urged by senior advocate N K Kaul that 77 communities have been "de-reserved" and due to the impugned judgement, the admission process in relation to them are getting affected. "I will pass an order (on advancing the date of hearing) in the afternoon. Please circulate an e-mail," the CJI told Kaul. The top court had earlier on August 5 asked the state government to provide quantifiable data on ..

Delhi HC asks Puja Khedkar to respond to UPSC's plea claiming perjury

Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice to Khedkar on the UPSC's application and granted her three weeks to file reply to it.

WB govt seeks time to respond to replies filed in OBC status case in SC

The West Bengal government on Tuesday sought time to reply to the responses filed by litigants in a case pertaining to the Calcutta High Court verdict striking down the OBC status of several castes, mostly Muslim groups, in the state for granting reservation in public sector jobs and admissions in state-run educational institutes. The top court was scheduled to hear on Tuesday the appeal of the state government along with other petitions on the issue. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the state government, told the bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that bulky documents have been filed by the other side in the matter and he needed time to respond to them. "I need time to respond to them," Sibal said. "We will then list the matter in the Monday week (the week commencing from next Monday that is September 2)," the CJI said. On August 20, the state government had sought an urgent hearing on its plea against the high cour

Bazaar, Sarkar, and Samaj: It's time to rethink the lateral-entry scheme

Solutions by specialists in one domain backfire in others. Designers of governance reforms should go back to the drawing board and rethink the lateral-entry scheme

Govt can collect caste-wise data of OBCs by adding extra column: Cong

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 ..

Row on caste inclusion in OBC list: SC seeks data from WB on backwardness

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the West Bengal government to provide quantifiable data on social and economic backwardness and the inadequate representation in public sector jobs of the castes that were included by it in the OBC list for granting quota benefits. The top court also issued notices to the private litigants who had moved Calcutta High Court against the inclusion of 77 castes, mostly Muslims, in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list. The high court on May 22 struck down the OBC status of several classes in West Bengal granted since 2010, finding such reservations to vacancies in services and posts in the state illegal. "Issue notice, including on the application of stay (of the judement filed by the state government). The state of West Bengal shall file an affidavit before this court explaining the process followed for classification of 77 communities as OBCs : (1) the nature of survey; (2) whether there was a lack of consultation with the Commission (state backward .

Chandra Shekhar Azad introduces bill asking pvt sector quota for SC,ST,OBC

Lok Sabha MP Chandra Shekhar Azad on Friday introduced a private member bill in Lok Sabha seeking reservation for the SCs, STs, and the OBCs in private sector, educational institutions, and other establishments that employ at least 20 people and have no government financial interest. The bill seeks to extend reservation benefits, currently meant only for public sector, to the private sector. The bill was formally titled the Reservation for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes in Private Sector Act, 2024. Under the proposed legislation, the Central government must incentivise private sector entities to implement reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs through special concessions and facilitate lower interest loans through nationalised banks. The bill also seeks presentation of an annual report detailing the actions taken under the Act in both houses of Parliament. The Central government will be mandated to create rules to ensure the effective ...

BJP will not allow OBC quota for Muslims in Haryana, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday accused the Congress of being anti-backward classes and said if the party comes to power in Haryana, it will snatch the reservation for them and give it to Muslims. Addressing a 'Backward Classes Samman Sammelan' here, Shah referred to the Kaka Kalekar Commission formed in the 1950s to provide reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and said the Congress did not implement its recommendations for years. "In 1980, (the then prime minister) Indira Gandhi put the Mandal Commission in cold storage. In 1990, when it was accepted, Rajiv Gandhi gave a two-and-a-half-hour speech and opposed OBC reservation," the Union minister said. "In Karnataka, the Congress snatched reservation for backward classes and gave it to Muslims. The same will happen here if they come (to power) here," Shah said. "I want to assure you that we will not allow Muslim reservation in Haryana," he said. He asserted that the BJP will form the government in Haryana with a f

Chhagan Bhujbal using incendiary language to divide Marathas, OBCs: Jarange

Quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday accused Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal of using provocative language intended to incite a rift between Marathas and OBCs, potentially triggering riots. "If he wants riots to happen in the state, the Maratha community should also remain alert," Jarange said while addressing a press conference from a private hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Jarange announced that the next steps for the Maratha quota agitation will be determined after July 13. "The Maratha community is now in trouble while I am left alone. But I will fight back and ensure that the Maratha community gets reservation under the Other Backward Classes category," he said. This remark comes amid escalating tensions over the quota issue following a hunger strike by OBC leaders that galvanised various backward classes and prompted government intervention. Maharashtra is experiencing polarisation as the Maratha community demands inclusion under the OBC grouping for reservatio