The BJP OBC cell Thursday staged a day-long protest near the Raj Bhawan gates here in support of its demand for reservation for other backward classes in the coming urban local body (ULB) poll in Jharkhand.
Speaking to the gathering, BJP state president Deepak Prakash said the party will intensify its agitation in the state if the government does not ensure the reservation of OBCs in the ULB poll.
Senior BJP leader Babulal Marandi said that on the one hand, the state cabinet hikes OBC reservation to 27%, while on the other it intends to conduct the ULB poll without the quota for them.
Jharkhand cabinet recently announced that the ULB poll will be conducted next year without reservation for OBCs despite its September nod to increase it to 27 per cent, up from 14 per cent. The increase in the quota was promised by all mainstream parties, including the ruling alliance partners JMM, Congress, and RJD in 2019.
"The government had deprived the OBCs of their reservation rights in the panchayat poll held earlier this year and is now doing the same in the ULB poll. We demand that the government ensures reservation for OBCs in the ULB poll. If it is not done the party will intensify its agitation across the state,” Prakash said.
Rajya Sabha MP Aditya Sahu told the gathering that the Hemant Soren government is misleading the people of the state.
“The government is cheating the people of the backward classes,” he added.
