Stating that the Yadavs and Kurmis are culturally, economically as well as politically influential in the state, the four-member social justice committee instituted by the Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh has suggested that the reservation quota of these two communities be limited to just 7 per cent of the total 27 per cent Other Backward Caste (OBC) quota in the state.
The report, prepared by the panel headed by Justice Raghvendra Kumar appointed for categorising sub-castes within OBCs, categorised the OBCs into 79 sub-castes, and states that: "It has been seen that only a few sub-castes have been able to get benefit of the reservation, while most of them have been left out," according to a report in the Times of India.
Stating that the employment opportunities of the More Backward Castes were merely half of their population, the panel has proposed giving 11 per cent reservation to the More Backward Castes including Lodhs, Kushwahas and Telis.
Additionally, the 400-page report submitted to the government has also suggested that castes such as Rajbhar, Ghosi and Qureshis dubbed as Most Backward Castes be given 9 per cent reservation of the 27 per cent quota for OBCs.
Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief and BJP ally Om Prakash Rajbhar, who is Backward Welfare Minister of the state is likely to table the report in the state assembly during the winter session that is scheduled to begin from Tuesday.
Rajbhar has also said that if the recommendations of the panel are not made applicable before Lok Sabha elections of 2019, he will launch a mass agitation starting December 24.
