JAIPUR: Gujjars in Rajasthan are unhappy over the Bharatiya Janata Party government’s latest decision to grant them 1% reservation within the 50% ceiling mandated by the Supreme Court and have reiterated their demand for sub-categorisation of the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota for extending the benefit to them.
The state government decided on Thursday to give 1% reservation to Gujjars and four other nomadic communities, recognising them as a “most backward” category. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore said a notification in this regard would be issued soon after getting the Governor's approval.
At present, the overall reservation in the state stands at 49%. Along with Gujjars, nomadic communities Banjara, Gadia-Lohar, Raika and Gadariya have been included among the OBCs for quota in the government jobs and educational institutions.
Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla, who has been spearheading the quota agitation for several years, said on Friday that the decision was not acceptable to the community. “Even the Centre has initiated an exercise to examine sub-categorisation of OBC reservation. What stops the Rajasthan government from doing the same?” he asked.
The state Assembly had on October 26 passed a Bill creating the “most backward” category within the OBCs for Gujjars and four other nomadic communities and given 5% reservation to them, while increasing the OBC quota from 21% to 26% and taking the overall quota in the state to 54%.
However, the Rajasthan High Court restrained the state government from implementing the provisions of the Bill on November 9. Later, the Supreme Court restrained the state government from taking any action or decision on the administrative side or in any manner conferring the benefit of reservation, which would have the result of crossing the total reservation beyond 50%.
The Gujjar Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti members, who have been interacting with a Cabinet sub-committee tasked with finding a solution to the quota issue, have maintained that making a provision for sub-quota within the OBC quota is the “only solution” available in the matter.
Gujjars and others were earlier grouped as a special backward class and the state government had tried thrice to grant 5% reservation to them. However, the legislation was struck down every time by the High Court, which ruled that the quota had not only exceeded the 50% limit, but was also not supported by the quantifiable data supporting the claim of Gujjars’ backwardness.
