West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday accused the state government of appeasement politics for ensuring that “a certain community” is benefited from OBC reservation. During a press conference at the BJP’s state headquarters in Kolkata, he alleged that the TMC government has launched an illegal OBC survey, violating the Constitution of India.
Currently, the Supreme Court is hearing the West Bengal government’s petition challenging the Calcutta High Court’s ruling which revoked the Other Backward Class (OBC) status of 77 communities last year.
During the last hearing on March 18, Kapil Sibal, on behalf of the West Bengal government, reportedly told the division bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and Augustine George Masih that the state Commission for Backward Classes would conduct and complete a fresh survey in three months on communities who have applied to be part of the state’s OBC list.
However, LoP Adhikari claimed that the state was surveying classes from only one religious community as part of its OBC survey. He further alleged that the survey had begun days before the apex court’s approval on March 18.
He pointed to documents from Basirhat in South 24 Parganas district, where a notice was allegedly circulated stating that the OBC survey scheduled for March 10, 2025, would be conducted exclusively for "only Muslim communities." He also cited similar claims from his own Nandigram assembly constituency.
LoP Adhikari stated that if an OBC re-survey is to be conducted, it should include everyone. He alleged that the “illegal survey” is being conducted with the help of government resources such as Bengal Sahayata Kendras, ASHA workers, and ICDS staff. Additionally, he claimed that the process is being carried out under the guidance of imams.
The Nandigram MLA alleged that in fear of losing the case in the Supreme Court the state government began the ongoing survey so that it could seek additional time from the top court. He believes the state will seek time till at least the next assembly election.
“To keep the vote bank intact she destroyed the hopes of lakhs of government job aspirants,” he said, alleging that as a result of the state’s policy Hindu OBCs are suffering. “There are no jobs, only certificates. The government is appeasing a particular community solely based on religious polarisation.”
The 55-year-old former Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP declared his intention to file a petition in the Calcutta High Court, challenging the state government's survey and urging the inclusion of the National OBC Commission and the Centre in the case.
