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Making a big change in the politics of West Bengal, Subhendu government has changed the entire structure of OBC reservation in the state. Two important amendment bills—’West Bengal Backward Classes (Reservation) Amendment Bill, 2026′ and ‘West Bengal Backward Classes Commission Amendment Bill, 2026’—were passed in the Assembly on Monday. With this historic decision, the recognition of 77 Muslim communities included in the OBC list during the TMC government has been cancelled. Now only 66 castes (54 Hindus and 12 Muslims) will get the benefit of reservation in the state.
What is the new rule of Shubhendu government?
Under the new law, the state government has decriminalized the disputed list made by the previous TMC government in 2012. The government’s clear argument is that this step has been taken in compliance with the order of Calcutta High Court of May 2024, in which the court had declared all OBC certificates issued after 2010 as invalid. According to Backward Classes Welfare Minister Gaurishankar Ghosh, the government has taken this step in fulfillment of its election promise to restore the original OBC list of 1993, which was changed by the previous government without any substantive investigation.
Mathematics of OBC quota: What will change now?
During voting in the Assembly, 186 votes were cast in favor of these bills, while only 17 members voted against them. The main features of the new rules are as follows:
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Total castes: Now only 66 castes are under the ambit of reservation.
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Community Distribution: These 66 castes include 54 Hindu and 12 Muslim communities.
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Reservation limit: The percentage of reservation will be decided on the recommendations of the Commission, but it will not exceed the overall ceiling of 50 percent in any case.
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Power of Commission: State Backward Classes Commission will now be more powerful. Its recommendations will be binding on the government, and it will be able to divide the castes into categories based on their backwardness.
Why is there protest and what is the government’s argument?
BJP has long alleged that the TMC government, due to vote bank politics, gave wrongful benefits of OBC quota to Muslim communities by ignoring socially backward Hindu groups. At the same time, the opposition is seeing it as targeting a particular community. The government clearly says that the process of preparing the old list was legally flawed and the Commission was bypassed. Now in the new system, any person will be able to apply to be included in the OBC list and objection can also be lodged against the wrongly included castes.