On Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared that her administration will seek a higher court’s intervention to overturn the Calcutta High Court’s decision to revoke all OBC certificates issued in the state since 2010.
During an election rally in Sagar, South 24 Parganas district, Banerjee stated that the government would file an appeal with the higher court after the summer break.
“We do not accept the ruling that nullified OBC certificates. We will challenge it in a higher court after the summer vacation,” Banerjee announced.
The Calcutta High Court had ruled on Wednesday that the OBC status granted to various classes in West Bengal since 2010 was illegal, igniting a political controversy amid the Lok Sabha elections. The court noted that including 77 classes of Muslims in the backward categories list was an attempt to use them as a vote bank.
Banerjee also appealed to voters to support the TMC and reject the BJP and other parties, stressing the need for the INDIA bloc to form a government at the Centre.
On Wednesday (22nd May), the Calcutta High Court cancelled an estimated 5 lakh Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates issued by the Mamata Banerjee-led-Trinamool Congress government since 2011.
Following the verdict, Mamata Banerjee has announced to not follow the verdict of the Calcutta High Court and continue to grant OBC reservations to groups that are now invalid.
“I don’t accept Calcutta HC’s verdict. OBC reservation will continue as it is,” the West Bengal Chief Minister was quoted as saying by the West Bengal CM.
In June 2023, the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) found that Rohingyas and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants had received Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates in West Bengal.
NCBC also found that there were more Muslim OBC castes in the state compared to Hindus (although the latter constitute the majority in West Bengal).
NCBC chief Hansraj Gangaram Ahir informed that 118 out of 179 castes, which were granted OBC status in West Bengal, belong to the Muslim community. The matter came to light during field surveys conducted between February and May 2023.
