New Delhi: Union Minister Bhupender Yadav on Thursday strongly criticized the West Bengal government and the INDIA alliance, accusing them of exploiting OBC reservations for political gain.
Yadav alleged that 75 Muslim communities were added to the OBC list in West Bengal without adhering to the legal criteria for OBC inclusion. “It is unfortunate that opposition parties are doing injustice to the OBCs. For them, OBC votes and counting are merely matters of politics. This is clearly reflected in the affidavit submitted by the West Bengal government to the Supreme Court. The Chairman of the OBC Commission revealed that 77 castes were added to the OBC list in West Bengal, out of which 75 belong to the Muslim community. This raises the question: did the West Bengal government follow the legal standards for OBC inclusion?” said Yadav.
He highlighted the inclusion of the Khota Muslim community as an example of what he described as “appeasement politics,” questioning the lack of inquiry into their backward status before their addition to the OBC list. Yadav further pointed out that the issue is currently pending in the Supreme Court, casting doubt on whether OBC reservations are being used for political gain by the Congress-led INDIA alliance, supported by Mamata Banerjee.
Yadav condemned the actions of the INDIA bloc, accusing them of using OBC reservations for vote bank politics. He claimed that governments in Telangana, Karnataka, and West Bengal have diverted reservations from Hindu OBCs to minority Muslims to fulfill their appeasement agenda.
“What BJP has always said about Mamata Banerjee and the INDIA alliance engaging in appeasement politics is not wrong. Now, the leaders of the INDIA alliance must explain why the governments of Telangana, Karnataka, and West Bengal are taking reservations from Hindu OBCs and giving them to Muslims for vote bank politics. West Bengal added 75 communities to the OBC list without any survey or scientific data. This is a clear case of appeasement politics, and people should be aware of it and take action,” Yadav stated.
He called on the leaders of the INDIA alliance to justify their actions and warned that people should recognize and respond to their appeasement politics accordingly.
