Rajasthan ups OBC quota to fit in Gurjars

Yash Goyal

Jaipur, August 18

As a sequel to meetings with the Gurjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti (GASS), the Vasundhra Raje government has agreed to raise the Other Backward Class (OBC) reservation limit by 5 per cent, from 21 to 26 per cent, to give a fresh quota privilege to five communities of Gurjars, Banjara, Rebari, Gardia Lohar, Raika and six of their sub-castes.

The GASS led by Col Kirori Singh Bainsla and CM’s four envoy ministers signed an agreement to the effect in presence of Chief Minister Raje here last night.

A notification would be brought and a new Bill covering this provision would be tabled in the Assembly next month, Arun Chaturvedi, the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, said.

At present, the OBC quota limit is 21 per cent, for SCs 16 per cent and STs 12 per cent — a total of 49 per cent as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court. Now, this bar would cross 54 per cent.

The Special Backward Classes (SBC) Act providing 5 per cent separate quota to Gurjars and others was struck down by the High Court last year, and hence it has no constitutional approval now, the minister said.

Recently these five castes and six sub-castes were again inducted into the OBC category by bringing a Bill in the Budget Session of the Raje government.

When quizzed on the SC directions not to cross the quota limit of 50 per cent, the minister said, “We have consulted legal experts and will draft the Bill accordingly, so that it can withstand scrutiny by any court.”

“The SC allows overall reservation to go beyond 50 per cent under special circumstances, as has been done in some states, including Tamil Nadu, where it touched 69 per cent,” he defended.

In the last 10 years, the state government (Congress and BJP) had brought three legislations to grant 5 per cent separate quota to Gurjars and four other communities through SBC, but the court rejected it twice in 2009 and 2016.