Bagidora assembly bypoll records 73.25 pc voting in Rajasthan till 5 pm
Though voting ended at 6 pm, the final percentage will be declared later tonight.
Ahead of the state assembly polls due in December this year, the Ashok Gehlot Government in Rajasthan has announced another bonanza for the Other Backward Class.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said here on Thursday that the OBC quota in the reservations would be increased by 6 per cent from 21 to 27 per cent with an additional 6 per cent going to the Most Backward Class (MBC) within the OBC category.
The chief minister had already hinted at raising the OBC quota limit yesterday at the Mangarh Dham rally in presence of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. With the new announcement the existing quota of 64 per cent quota would be raised to 70 per cent.
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While interacting with the media at Birla Auditorium on Thursday, Gehlot clarified that this will increase the overall reservation in the state from 64 to 70 per cent.
Gehlot also announced a survey to be conducted by the OBC Commission to identify the most backward castes in the OBC category and the commission will submit the report in a time-bound manner.
“With this, the Most Backward Castes will get more opportunities for education and service in the government sector. Various organisations of SC-ST are also continuously demanding reservation on the basis of population. The government is also getting this demand tested,” the CM said.
“In the 10-per cent reservation for the EWS category, the Rajasthan government had removed the condition of immovable property, so that this category could also be sure to get the full benefit of reservation,” he said.
“There is no legal rider to increase the quota limit above 50 percent as it was prevailing earlier,” the CM clarified, and added that many other states have crossed the quota limit of 50 per cent.
Presently, Rajasthan has the following slabs of reservation categories with a total of 64 per cent:
OBC: 21 per cent; SCs: 16 per cent; STs: 12 per cent; Economically Weaker Section (EWS): 10 per cent; and MBS: 5 per cent.
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