Rajasthan Reservation Row: OBC Muslim Reclassification Sparks Debate

Amid ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Rajasthan's Social Justice Minister Avinash Gehlot announced a review of OBC classifications for certain Muslim groups, initially granted by Congress governments from 1997 to 2013. The review has sparked debate with BJP accused of engaging in communal politics, while opposition demands accountability from the central government.

Amid a tug of war over reservations between the BJP and opposition parties in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, a Rajasthan minister on Saturday said the classification of certain Muslim groups under the OBC category would be reviewed in the state.

Social justice and empowerment minister of Rajasthan Avinash Gehlot said that previous Congress governments gave OBC reservation to Muslim castes from 1997 to 2013 as part of appeasement politics and now it will be reviewed.

''Baba Saheb Ambedkar had written in the Constitution that reservation benefits cannot be given to any caste or class on the basis of religion, but from 1997 to 2013, Congress included Muslim castes in the OBC category,'' Gehlot was qiuoted as saying in a video.

''The 14 castes of Muslims have been included in the OBC category. We have complaints and the department is getting the verification done,'' he said, adding that a high-level committee will be formed on the matter.

When contacted, the minister said that giving reservation ''on the basis of religion is unconstitutional'' and should be reviewed.

Reacting to it, PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra said that the BJP was doing 'Hindu-Muslim' politics out of fear of its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections instead of giving an account of the work done by the central government.

''Regardless of your Hindu-Muslim politics, done out of fear of defeat, INDIA alliance will form the government. The people are demanding an account of the last 10 years. It is demanding answers on inflation, unemployment and bad governance,'' he said.

AIMIM's state general secretary Kashif Zuberi said it will protest against the review. He said that the BJP should review its election manifesto instead of taking decisions to target one religion.