By Zaidul Haque, TwoCircles.net,
Kolkata: Muslims in West Bengal are again facing problems in the implementation of Muslim OBC reservation which was introduced by the previous Left Front Government. In its recent judgment, Kolkata HC has cast a shadow over the reservation which Muslims were getting under OBC quota.
“In our view, the government decision was taken in haste. So we are directing the government to reconsider its decision and let us know within a month. After knowing the government’s view, this court will decide whether the decision was taken in accordance with the law,” said the division bench of Chief Justice J.N. Patel and Justice A.K. Roy its order on 8th July 2011.
In total OBC get 17% reservation in West Bengal. Out of that 17 %, 10 percent which comes around only 1.7 %, is reserved for Muslims. Among 108 category of OBC in West Bengal, 53 are Muslim but they get just 1.7 % of the OBC quota.
The Bench made the comment while dealing with a petition against the Muslim OBC reservation in West Bengal which was filed by Advocate Amal Chandra Das.
The CJ asked the advocate-general Anindya Mitra to “enlighten” the court about the new government’s stand on the Muslim OBC reservation issue. Mitra sought a month’s time.
The petitioner challenged the constitutional validity of the previous government’s decision to categorize Other Backward Classes (OBCs) by bringing 49 classes of Muslims under a newly created “more backward classes” of A category which reserve 10 per cent in government jobs.
Reservation to Muslims in government jobs and education was in the election manifesto of the Mamata Banerjee but after coming into power she hasn’t done any thing substantial on the issue.