Uttar Pradesh: Opposition parties slam BJP on OBC reservation issue

The opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh are accusing the BJP of depriving OBCs of their right to reservation. Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav has claimed that after depriving the OBC of reservation, the BJP will one day strip Dalits of their reservation rights too. He called upon the OBCs and the Dalits to join SP in its fight to save the right to reservations.

"Today BJP's design to end reservations for the OBCs enshrined in the Constitution of India has been exposed. Now they are shedding crocodile tears to show that they are sympathetic towards the backwards," Akhilesh said in a statement.

"By selling airports, railways, shipyards and other government units to corporates, the BJP has ended reservations in these specific sections as private organisations do not come under the ambit of the reservation policy. Now they want to end reservation in government services as well. Such an approach towards backwards and Dalits will not go down well with the people," he said.

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Party's secretary general Ram Gopal Yadav tweeted that: "The Uttar Pradesh government, as a part of a conspiracy, concealed the truth by not placing the complete facts before the court. Almost 60 per cent of the state's population has been deprived of reservations. OBC ministers are silent on the issue."

Senior SP MLA Shivpal Yadav said: "We will have to lead an agitation to ensure that reservation is left untouched. Even if it requires to launch an agitation bigger than the one launched to seek reservations."

Meanwhile, BSP president Mayawati said the OBC community in the state will punish the BJP government for their mistake.

"Uttar Pradesh government should have followed the directions of the Supreme Court with full honesty and accountability to work out the OBC reservations on time, using the triple test system before finalising the election process," she said.

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She said that the OBCs will punish BJP for this mistake, adding that the High Court order exposes the anti-OBC and the anti-reservation mindset and thinking of the saffron party.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh said that if BJP tried to hold elections without OBC reservation, then his party would take to the streets in protest.

The MP, who is also the party's state in-charge, said that the court order made it clear that BJP was anti-OBC and anti-Dalit.

"They should have followed the Constitutional procedure to determine the reservation by forming a commission and carrying out a survey. However, they purposely brought in a senseless and unconstitutional reservation which was naturally challenged in court and set aside by the bench. If they had only followed the procedure, then the backward community would have been given its due rights," he said.