“I Do Not Accept the Order”: TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee Rejects Calcutta High Court’s Annulment Of OBC Certificates Given To 37 Communities During Her Period

“The PM has been talking about how minorities will snatch away Tapashili reservation. How can this ever happen? It would lead to constitutional breakdown. Minorities can never touch the Tapashili or Adivasi reservation. But these mischievous people get their work done through agencies,” she said.

“This was passed by the Assembly, and there is a court verdict on the same. They are playing games ahead of elections with these things… Can the PM ever say that minorities will seize Tapashili reservation? He cannot. This is a constitutional guarantee. They are doing this just for votes.”, she further added.

Criticizing High Court judges, the TMC Supremo remarked, “One judge claims to be an RSS member, while another has joined the BJP… How can such individuals serve as judges and oversee court proceedings?”

Additionally, senior party leader and Ms. Banerjee’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, accused the court’s ruling of being part of the BJP’s agenda to revoke reservations for the Tapashili community.

A division bench comprising Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha clarified that their order would not impact individuals who are currently employed, have successfully passed any state government selection processes, or have used the OBC certificates for reservation purposes.

The court invalidated the OBC certificates issued under the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, declaring them illegal. The bench emphasized that the opinions and advice of the Backward Classes Commission are generally binding on the state legislature as per the National Commission for Backward Classes Act 1993. They instructed the state’s Backward Classes Welfare Department to consult with the commission and submit a report to the legislature, recommending the addition of new classes or the removal of existing classes from the state OBC list.

In 2023, the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), a constitutional body, identified irregularities in the execution of reservation policies across four states during field surveys conducted from February to May. In West Bengal, the commission discovered that Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants had been issued OBC certificates. Additionally, in February, the NCBC noted that out of the 179 castes listed as OBCs in the state, 118 were from the Muslim community.

(With Inputs From IE)