Why is Mamata Banerjee Blaming BJP and CPI(M) Over Calcutta HC's Interim Stay on Bengal's New OBC List?

Kolkata, June 18 (NationPress) Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her discontent on Wednesday, attributing the blame to the BJP and CPI(M) after the Calcutta High Court issued an interim stay on the release of the final notification regarding West Bengal's updated Other Backward Classes (OBC) list until July 31.

During a press conference, the Chief Minister remarked that both the BJP and CPI(M) oppose job reservations for OBCs.

“This is not the final verdict. We have obtained a copy of the order, which is currently under review by our legal team. Previously, we requested three months from the Supreme Court to conduct a review and formulate a new OBC list. The entire process is being overseen by a corporation for backward classes, comprising retired high court judges. However, it is evident that both the BJP and CPI(M) are against job reservations for OBCs. This reservation benefits individuals from the backward sections. They aim to obstruct any positive initiatives from the state government, whether in education or employment generation,” the Chief Minister stated.

Earlier that day, the Trinamool Congress’s state general secretary Kunal Ghosh asserted that the BJP's opposition to OBC reservation in West Bengal was apparent from the sweets distributed by the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, following the Calcutta High Court’s ruling on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the division bench of the Calcutta High Court, comprised of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Rajasekhar Mantha, noted that several notifications issued by the state in relation to the new survey breached directives set by the Supreme Court while imposing the interim stay.

The updated OBC list, which is based on a new survey initiated by the state government, was anticipated to include 140 communities.

This survey followed a commitment made by the West Bengal government to the Supreme Court on March 18, challenging a prior Calcutta High Court order that invalidated all OBC certificates issued in the state since 2010.

The state government had guaranteed the apex court that a new survey would be completed and a fresh list would be issued within three months.

Nonetheless, a new petition filed in the Calcutta High Court questioned the survey's methodology and scope, claiming that the state was only considering applications from 113 communities whose OBC status had been revoked earlier.

Critics, including BJP leaders, have accused the government of disproportionately including members of the Muslim community in the revised list.

To recall, in May 2024, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court annulled all OBC certificates issued in West Bengal after 2010, effectively nullifying certificates granted during the Trinamool Congress administration that began in 2011.

This decision impacted over 5 lakh OBC certificate holders, making them ineligible for benefits under the reservation quota in government jobs and education.

Subsequently, the state approached the Supreme Court, which permitted the fresh survey to move forward. However, with the High Court now placing the final notification on hold, the state's efforts to publish a revised OBC list encounter another legal hurdle.