WITH the race to the West Bengal Meeting elections kicking into gear, and the Supreme Court docket set to carry a listening to on the matter subsequent month, the Mamata Banerjee authorities hopes to have extricated itself from the row over its OBC listing by popping out with one other.
On June 10, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee laid within the Meeting new OBC-A and OBC-B lists, including 76 teams and taking the whole quantity to 140. Nonetheless, the BJP has alleged that these lists carry the identical foundation as what led the Excessive Court docket final yr to scrap all additions to OBCs since 2010 by the West Bengal authorities – that these are closely skewed in favour of Muslims. Of the 140 communities within the OBC listing now, 80 are Muslim.
The Excessive Court docket had scrapped 113 names from the listing of OBCs, retaining 66, final yr. Of the scrapped 113, 76 have now been added again, whereas two from the listing of 66 have been taken out. Functions of others, the state authorities has mentioned, are pending. Whereas the names of the teams added again have been specified, it’s not the case with these neglected.
The federal government has additionally mentioned that the 76 new OBC teams added had been shortlisted purely on the premise of suggestions of the West Bengal Fee for Backward Courses. Of those 51 had been added to OBC-A (masking the ‘extra backward’ amongst OBCs) and 25 to OBC-B.
The courtroom case
Between March 2010 and Might 2012, 77 communities had been issued OBC certificates by the state, 75 of them Muslim. Of those 75 Muslim teams, 42 received OBC standing beneath the Left authorities in 2010.
The primary problem within the excessive courtroom was filed in 2011 on the bottom that the declaration of those 42 lessons as OBCs was “based mostly purely on faith”, that “the categorisation shouldn’t be based mostly on any acceptable knowledge, and that the survey performed by the (backward lessons) fee was unscientific, and prefabricated… to suit the top”.
In Might 2012, by which period the TMC authorities had come to energy, one other 35 lessons had been categorised as OBC, 34 of them from the Muslim group. This too was challenged within the courtroom.
In March 2013, the West Bengal Backward Courses (Aside from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of vacancies and posts) Act, 2012, was notified. All 77 (42+35) new OBCs had been included within the Act. Two petitions had been filed difficult the Act.
On Might 22, 2024, the courtroom struck down the inclusion of 113 teams in whole, retaining solely 66, saying “faith certainly seems to have been the only real criterion” for granting the standing. As with most instances the place reservations have been challenged, the courtroom relied closely on the Supreme Court docket’s Indra Sawhney v Union of India (Mandal judgment). The 1992 order had held that states should set up a backward lessons fee to establish and suggest lessons of residents for inclusion or exclusion within the state OBC listing.
The Excessive Court docket mentioned that in West Bengal’s case, between 2010 and 2012, the backward lessons fee’s suggestions had been made with “lightning pace”… with out utilizing any “goal standards” to find out the backwardness of those lessons. “Faith certainly seems to have been the only real criterion for declaring these communities as OBCs”, and the reviews that the fee submitted had been meant solely to “curtain and conceal such faith particular suggestions”, the courtroom mentioned.
“This courtroom’s thoughts shouldn’t be free from doubt that the mentioned group has been handled as a commodity for political ends”, and that the lessons added had been being handled as a “vote financial institution”, it mentioned.
The courtroom additionally struck down parts of the 2012 Act that allowed the state authorities to “sub-classify” OBC reservations into OBC-A and OBC-B classes for “extra backward” and “backward” lessons respectively. Sub-classification is supposed to deal with the totally different ranges of deprivation, which the courtroom held might solely be carried out by referring to materials collected by the fee.
The Excessive Court docket order coincided with the Lok Sabha marketing campaign, and the BJP accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of looking for to remove reservation and different advantages from Hindus and giving them to Muslims.
The federal government stand
Following the courtroom order, CM Banerjee mentioned they might file an attraction difficult the identical within the Supreme Court docket, including: “You (the BJP) are enjoying at A and I’ll play at B. In the event you play at C, I’ll play at Z.”
The TMC authorities contended that the backward lessons fee recognized the lessons based mostly on purposes acquired from residents.
In 2024, the TMC authorities moved the Supreme Court docket, together with another petitioners. On March 18 this yr, the federal government knowledgeable the Court docket {that a} contemporary train was being performed for the identification of OBCs within the state. The Court docket then agreed to adjourn the matter by three months and take it up in July.
The brand new listing
On Tuesday, Banerjee laid an interim report of the West Bengal Fee for Backward Courses within the Meeting. Noting that for inclusion within the OBC listing, a category or citizen wants to use “within the prescribed proforma detailing the social, financial and academic options of that class”, the report mentioned that the fee had “until date” really useful “179 lessons for inclusion as ‘Different Backward Courses’ within the State listing of OBCs”. Out of those, the panel mentioned, 113 had been struck down by the Excessive Court docket in Might 2024. “Solely 66 communities enlisted earlier than 2010 had been saved untouched.”
The report added that it had now really useful “for inclusion of 51 plus 25 lessons, whole 76 lessons”. Out of those 76 lessons, the report mentioned, 74 had been “delisted” by the Excessive Court docket order, whereas two “utilized afresh for inclusion”.
Sub-categorising these 76 lessons, the fee mentioned 35 fall within the OBC-A class and 41 in OBC-B.
The fee’s report additionally sub-categorised 64 of “the 66 lessons of OBCs which weren’t delisted” by Excessive Court docket. “The Fee after due consideration of the scores acquired by such 64 lessons within the Benchmark Survey, really useful sub-categorisation of 14 lessons in Class A (Extra Backward) whereas 50 lessons had been really useful to be categorised in Class B (Backward). For the remaining 2 lessons, the Fee determined to conduct a contemporary survey.”
It added that it was nonetheless finishing up its benchmark survey as regards 41 communities. “This course of is anticipated to be accomplished inside the subsequent month or two.” Along with this, says the report, “7 extra communities have positioned their purposes earlier than West Bengal Fee for Backward Courses for inclusion within the State OBC Record…”.
Presenting the fee’s report, the CM mentioned: “Some corners try to marketing campaign that the state authorities is offering reservation on the premise of faith, which is baseless… We made the brand new OBC-A and OBC-B lists on the premise of a scientific benchmark survey performed by the fee and included these communities that are backward. There isn’t a query of creating OBC classes on the premise of faith.”
A authorities notification the identical day mentioned that of the whole variety of OBC teams now, 80 are Muslim and 60 non-Muslim, with Muslims making up 57.14% of the whole. Of the 49 in essentially the most backward OBC-A class, 36 are Muslim; and of the 91 in OBC-B class, 44 are Muslims.
The BJP’s competition
Chief of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has alleged that the brand new OBC listing ready by the TMC authorities additionally has faith as criterion, and gives “one-sided profit” solely to Muslims. He posted on X Wednesday: “OBC = Different Backward Courses. In West Bengal it means One-Sided Beneficiary Courses.”
Countering Adhikari, the TMC mentioned, “Everyone knows that ‘Divide and Rule’ is the official coverage of the BJP, and your solely agenda for the 2026 elections is to pit Hindus in opposition to Muslims.” It reiterated Banerjee’s assertion that backwardness, not faith, is the only real criterion for OBC standing, and mentioned: “The brand new listing was ready with that precept in thoughts.”
