Yogi welcomes Calcutta HC verdict on OBC-Muslim quota, says it was unconstitutional

LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday formally welcomed the decision of the Calcutta high court regarding OBC-Muslim reservation, saying that the Constitution does not allow for reservation on the basis of religion. The CM said that the Trinamool Congress govt in West Bengal was practising politics of appeasement, under which it had included 118 Muslim castes in the OBC category in 2010.

Yogi had thanked the HC for its decision during an election rally in UP on Wednesday.

“West Bengal’s TMC govt, driven by political appeasement, introduced this reservation in 2010 by forcibly including 118 Muslim castes into the OBC category. This approach of prioritising political interests over national welfare by the INDIA alliance must be denounced and exposed,” he said.

The CM said the high court’s reversal of the TMC govt’s “unconstitutional action” was a significant rebuke. He added that even BR Ambedkar had said on numerous occasions that reservation should not be caste based and therefore, such unconstitutional acts should not be tolerated.

“In India, reservation provisions were established for Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and after the Mandal Commission, reservation was instituted for OBCs, taking into account their social and economic backwardness. The Constitution of India does not allow reservation on the basis of religion. Baba Saheb had repeatedly warned that the country had been divided on the basis of religion and we should not create any such situation which would push the country towards another partition,” he said.

Saying that the high court decision has set an example, Yogi mentioned that even in Karnataka, the Congress govt has made similar encroachments on the rights of OBCs by providing reservations to Muslims. Similar actions had been taken in Andhra Pradesh as well, he said, and added that it was crucial to strongly oppose all such measures. “Any unconstitutional act that threatens to divide India and weaken its foundation should not be accepted at all,” he said.