Lucknow: A four-member social justice committee set up by the Yogi Adityanath government in UP for categorizing various sub-castes within the OBCs has suggested that of the total 27% quota meant for OBCs, only 7% reservation may be given to the Yadavs and Kurmis.
According to a report in The Times of India, the panel said that these two castes are not only culturally but also economically and politically influential. This observation is likely to draw the ire of friends and foe alike, as the Yadavs form the core vote base of Samajwadi Party, while Kurmis happen to be key voters of BJP ally, Apna Dal.
Reacting sharply to the recommendations, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Sunil Singh Sajan called the report BJP’s attempt to “divide and rule.”
“Our national president Akhilesh Yadav has been repeatedly asking for a fresh census to be conducted in order to give reservation as per the population of that caste. The BJP wants the OBCs to fight among themselves which will eventually help the party in the 2019 general elections,” he said.
The committee headed by Justice Raghvendra Kumar, has in a 400-page report reportedly categorized the OBCs into 79 sub-castes. The report is likely to be tabled in the winter session of the UP assembly.
The committee has reportedly suggested giving 11% reservation to More Backward Castes like Lodh, Teli and Kushwaha. The panel has proposed 9% reservation for MBCs like Rajbhar, Ghosi and Quresh which are mostly involved in class three and class four jobs or are mostly jobless.
Ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, CM Yogi Adityanath in an attempt to consolidate the MBC voters, ordered the setting up of a committee to gauge the possibility of quota within the OBC in June this year. Previously, during the regime of Rajnath Singh in 2002, an attempt for quota within quota for the MBCs was proposed, but failed to materialise.
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