KOLKATA: West Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari has accused the Mamata Banerjee-led government of manipulating the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list by enlisting Muslims while excluding Hindus.
Referring to a survey conducted by the state government, Adhikari alleged that the administration was preparing a “completely Muslim-specific report.”
He claimed, “This illegal act is being done at the instance of (Chief Secretary) Manoj Pant, who is getting the BDOs and the Imams to include only the Muslims in the list. Even in that case, new fictitious communities are being created to fill up the survey report, while other communities, including the Hindus, are being ignored.”
The state government had earlier informed the Supreme Court that it would conduct a fresh survey by July to identify OBCs, following a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court revoking the OBC status of 77 Muslim communities that had been included in the category since 2010.
Adhikari claimed that this move was to the detriment of Hindu and other non-Muslim OBC communities, who had not been included in the earlier list.
He further alleged that the new survey was being conducted to “divert resources from Hindu OBCs without scientific data,” adding, “They are creating made-up communities with no social substantiality and existence. This is a clear attempt at appeasement under the guise of welfare, with an eye on next year’s Assembly elections.”
“In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee is bringing 98 per cent Muslims under reservation, and yet she accuses the Opposition of going to court to stop her welfare initiatives for minorities. She is doing this to polarise and consolidate the Muslim votes, which, according to the Trinamool Congress, account for 33 per cent of the voters,” he said.
Adhikari also shared images on social media of one Sk Lutfar, who had been identified as a “Muslim Darji” in an official form. “There is no such community, and her government is creating fictitious and fake communities,” he alleged.
Last week, the Chief Minister informed the State Assembly that 2 to 3 lakh vacant posts would be filled once the legal battle over the quota issue was resolved.
Adhikari accused Banerjee of playing a “dirty game of appeasement and divisive politics,” claiming that the Calcutta High Court had questioned how a community comprising only about 30 per cent of the total population could make up more than 75 per cent of the total number of OBCs. He demanded that the Central Government and the central OBC Commission be made a party to the case.