Amit Malviya refutes Mamata’s claim accusing BJP of politicising new OBC list in Bengal

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Kolkata, June 11 (IANS) Amit Malviya, BJP’s IT Cell Chief and the party’s central observer for West Bengal, on Wednesday, refuted claims by the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of ‘unnecessarily’ making controversies over the new list of Other Backward Class (OBC) communities prepared by the state government following a directive from the Supreme Court.

While addressing the Monsoon session of the Assembly on Tuesday, the Chief Minister had said that religion has no connection with the fresh survey on determining the people to be included in the OBC category.

She also claimed that there were 49 castes in the OBC-A category, while there were 91 castes in the OBC-B category and 50 more castes will soon be included.

According to CM Banerjee, the survey was based on economic backwardness and not on the basis of religion.

Refuting the Chief Minister’s claims, Malviya on Wednesday issued a statement claiming that the state government’s data was not based on religion instead of economic backwardness.

According to Malviya’s statement, before 2010, that is during the previous Left Front regime, of the total 66 OBC classes, only 11 classes were from the Muslim community, while the remaining 55 classes were from the non-Muslim community, with Muslim share being just at 20 per cent.

However, the BJP leader said that in the new additions for 2025, of the 51 new additional classes in Part 1, 46 (or 90 per cent) were Muslims, while of 25 new additions in Part-2 a total 21 (or 84 per cent) were Muslims.

“If this isn’t religion-based appeasement, what is? On June 3, 2025, the West Bengal government increased the OBC reservation in State Services to 17 per cent (from seven per cent) — clearly to benefit these newly included Muslim groups. But here’s the catch: On December 9, 2024, the Supreme Court said — Reservation can’t be based on religion. Earlier, Calcutta High Court had struck down this exact list for doing just that. The new list is nothing but a blatant contempt of court and an insult to the principles of social justice,” Malviya said in a post on his official X account.

The BJP leader also said that in point number 17 of the OBC list, it has been clearly stated that those who convert to Christianity will automatically be considered an OBC and their children will also enjoy the same benefit.

“So now, conversion from Hinduism is being rewarded with OBC status and lifelong reservation benefits!” Malviya claimed.

Earlier in May 2024, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court cancelled all the OBC certificates issued in West Bengal after 2010, which ideally meant that all such certificates issued during the current Trinamool Congress government in the state since 2011 stood null.

Following this order from the division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Rajasekhar Mantha, more than 5,00,000 OBC certificates issued during that period stood cancelled and could not be used for enjoying the reservation for jobs.

The West Bengal government moved the Supreme Court based on the Calcutta High Court order, and in March this year, the apex court allowed the state government to conduct a fresh survey to identify the OBCs in the state.

However, since the beginning of the survey, the BJP has questioned the style and format of conducting the fresh survey by the state government.

Leader of the Opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari claimed that the state government’s fresh survey was being conducted in the same manner, which did not hold ground in the Supreme Court and was scrapped by the Calcutta High Court.

–IANS

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In a strongly worded statement issued on Sunday, CPI state secretary R. Mutharasan urged the President of India and the Union government to remove Governor Ravi from office, alleging that he behaves like an “unruly authoritarian” who considers himself above the judiciary and the Constitution.

“If his actions continue unchecked, a massive public uprising, driven by democratic sentiment, will emerge to restrain him,” Mutharasan warned. The CPI leader pointed to a recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned several actions taken by Governor Ravi, clarifying the constitutional boundaries of his role. Despite this, the Governor has continued to attend public events and make controversial statements, Mutharasan said.

He cited a recent incident at the Kamban Festival held at Thiagarajar College in Thirupparankundram, where the Governor reportedly chanted “Jai Shri Ram” and allegedly pressured students to follow suit — an act Mutharasan described as contrary to Tamil Nadu’s cultural and artistic traditions.

Accusing the Governor of consistently acting against the interests of the DMK-led government, the CPI leader said, “He has misused his constitutional position ever since taking office, blocking administrative functioning and stalling key legislative processes.” Mutharasan also alleged that the Governor’s actions are part of a broader strategy by the BJP-led Union government to disrupt governance in opposition-ruled states and manufacture administrative deadlocks for political advantage.

Highlighting the Governor’s delay in providing assent to numerous Bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, the CPI condemned what it called a violation of federal principles and public welfare. The CPI’s call comes days after a landmark Supreme Court ruling on April 8, which invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to declare that 10 bills, withheld by the Governor for two to five years, are deemed to have received assent. A bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan held that the Governor’s decision to reserve the Bills for the President’s assent was “illegal and liable to be set aside.”

Citing the undue delay and the Governor’s disregard for previous court rulings, the court used its special powers to grant validity to the pending legislation. The bench also laid down a time frame of one to three months for future decisions regarding gubernatorial assent to Bills, to uphold legislative autonomy and constitutional balance between the state and the Centre.

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Delhi election: 33.31 per cent turnout till 1 p.m.

New Delhi, Feb 5 (IANS) Delhi recorded a turnout of 33.31 per cent till 1 p.m. as young and old voters turned out to cast ballots to choose a new 70-member Assembly on Wednesday, an official said.

The exercise remained largely peaceful with voting percentage rising quickly after a cool morning made way for a warm afternoon.

There was a commotion at a polling booth in Seelampur where a bogus voter was caught casting a vote on someone else’s identity. The incident occurred at Aryan Public School, Booth Level Officer, Seelampur, Gayatri, said.

Allegations of poll code violations also continued to circulate till afternoon with former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleging that rival parties were giving money to voters, a charge which was dismissed by police.

The turnout in the 2020 Delhi Assembly election stood at 62.82 per cent, 4.65 per cent lower than 67.47 per cent in 2015. In 2013, the turnout was 66.02 per cent, 8.42 per cent higher than 2008’s 57.6 per cent.

In 2020, the AAP won 62 out of 70 seats with a vote share of 53.57 per cent. The BJP won eight seats with a 38.51 per cent vote share. The Congress got 4.26 per cent of votes and others polled 3.66 per cent votes.

In 2015, the AAP won 67 seats with 54.34 per cent vote share. The BJP won 3 seats with a 32.19 per cent vote share. The Congress bagged 9.65 per cent votes and others got 3.82 per cent votes.

Till 11 a.m. on Wednesday, North East Delhi district led the pack with 24.87 per cent turnout and New Delhi district recorded the lowest turnout of 16.46 per cent. Shahdara district recorded the next highest turnout of 23.30 per cent. South West district 21.90 per cent, East district 20.03 per cent, North West and South districts 19.75 per cent, South East 19.66 per cent, and West district 17.67 per cent.

Voting, which began at 7 a.m., will continue till 6 pm With nearly 3,000 polling booths marked as sensitive, authorities have heightened security with the deployment of 220 paramilitary force companies, 35,626 Delhi Police personnel, and 19,000 Home Guards. Drone surveillance and Quick Reaction Teams have been put in place to ensure law and order.

The elections will decide whether the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) retains its dominance, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stages a comeback, or the Congress re-emerges as a strong contender. The results will be declared on February 8.

Campaigning ended on Monday at 6 p.m. after an intense electoral battle. In the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, the AAP secured a landslide victory with 62 out of 70 seats, the BJP won eight, while the Congress failed to win a single seat for the second consecutive time.

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Bengal Education Minister faces protests at Jadavpur University

Kolkata, March 1 (IANS) West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu, on Saturday faced protests at Jadavpur University (JV) after he reached there to attend the annual general meeting of Trinamool Congress-affiliated West Bengal College and University Professors Association (WBCUPA).

As Basu reached the university premises, the students affiliated to CPI(M)’s student wing Students’ Federation of India (SFI), started protesting after surrounding him and demanding immediate election for the students’ council of JU.

A scuffle broke out between the agitating students and the associates of Basu, which resulted in total unrest within the university premises. The security personnel had a tough time escorting the minister back to his vehicle.

The vehicle of the minister as well as the escorting pilot car was damaged allegedly by the agitating students. The windscreen of the minister’s vehicle cracked, allegedly being hit by the protesting students.

The minister received minor injuries following the scuffle and also fell sick. He was then rushed to the state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata. At the time the report was filed, his condition was reported to be stable.

One of the agitating students was also injured severely after being hit by the minister’s vehicle.

SFI leadership alleged that the driver of the minister’s vehicle had deliberately hit the student following which he was injured severely. Two professors of the university were also injured in the scuffle.

Basu, who is also the president of WBCUPA, alleged that the attack on him was not just by the leftist students. “It was a joint action by the leftists, extreme leftists, and those students having affiliations to saffron forces,” he said.

However, the SFI leadership had claimed that it was outsiders accompanying the minister who started the ruckus by misbehaving with the students.

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