Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday made a significant statement in the Assembly regarding OBC reservations and clarified that the reservation percentage, which had been reduced from 17 per cent to 7 per cent following a Calcutta High Court directive, is now being restored to 17 per cent based on the recommendations of a state OBC commission.
She emphasised that the reservation is not based on religion, as it follows the benchmarks set by the Mandal Commission and is based on specific socio-economic surveys conducted by the state government. "The previous OBC reservations introduced during the Left regime were not based on any concrete survey. However, we have conducted a thorough and methodical survey. The recommendations by the commission, headed by retired Justice Asim Banerjee, have been duly accepted by the state," she said.
According to Banerjee, 140 communities have been enlisted under the OBC category in the state. Of these, 49 are placed in Category A and 91 in Category B. Another survey is underway for the 50 additional communities, and decisions regarding their inclusion will be taken once the reports of the findings are submitted.
She added that the legal complications surrounding OBC reservations had brought the recruitment processes by various government boards to a standstill. "Now that the reservation policy has been clarified and implemented based on legal recommendations backed by a survey, the recruitment process will resume," Banerjee said.
Responding to media allegations, she said, "Certain media outlets are spreading misleading information. The identification of OBCs is solely based on the socio-economic findings of the Backwards Classes Commission. Religion has no role here. All relevant documents and evidence have been submitted to the Assembly. I hope this puts an end to any further confusion or misinformation."
The Trinamool Congress supremo also recalled that under the previous High Court order, 113 communities were excluded from the OBC list, and the reservation was slashed to 7 per cent. At that time, 117 communities had submitted appeals to the commission, which started working in January 2025. Based on their recommendation, the 17 per cent quota has now been reinstated.
She reiterated that the revised reservation list focuses solely on communities that are economically and socially backwards. "Some are falsely claiming that this reservation is being granted based on religion. That is completely untrue," Banerjee clarified. According to the list presented by the government, out of the total communities listed, 61 are Hindus, while 79 belong to minority communities.
Following her statement, the opposition BJP has claimed that this reservation is minority appeasement. Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, kept raising slogans about this inside the Assembly and eventually staged a walkout. "The Chief Minister has made a false statement," Adhikari told reporters outside the Assembly.
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