Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government was misusing reservation for vote bank politics.
He claimed that reservation policies for 'Economically Weaker Sections' among upper caste people were being misused by the Trinamool Congress government to appease Muslims.
Speaking at a gathering of an Other Backward Classes (OBC) association in Salt Lake, Adhikari claimed that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government was continuing the "vote bank politics" initiated by the Left Front after the Nandigram land agitation, aiming to secure Muslim support.
"Vote bank politics was introduced in Bengal by the Left parties to gain support of the Muslims after the Nandigram anti-land acquisition agitation, and now this is being carried forward by the TMC," he said.
He said the central government has allotted funds for the uplift of economically weaker sections of society, irrespective of their religion.
"This reservation (for EWS) cannot be done for vote bank politics," he said.
Calcutta High Court had in May 2024 struck down the OBC status granted to several classes in West Bengal since 2010.
The court found these reservations for vacancies in state services and posts illegal. The court annulled reservations granted to 77 classes between April and September 2010, and 37 more introduced under the 2012 State Reservation Act.
The CPI(M)-led Left Front was in power in West Bengal till May 2011, and thereafter the Trinamool Congress government took over.
Adhikari claimed that democracy in the state was getting diminished owing to vote bank politics by the successive ruling parties.
He accused the TMC government of not cooperating with the Centre in providing land for fencing over 500 km along the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal.
The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered an interim stay on notifications issued by the West Bengal government with regard to reservations to 140 subsections under OBC-A and OBC-B categories.
In an interim stay till July 31, the court directed that executive notifications with regard to OBC categories made by the state government between May 8 and June 13 will not be given effect till that date.
The court directed that all consequential acts thereof will also remain stayed till July 31.
The state government has included 49 subsections under OBC-A (for more backward communities) and 91 under OBC-B (for relatively less backward communities).
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