TNI Bureau: The West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed two Bills amending the state’s OBC reservation laws, removing 77 Muslim communities from the OBC list and restoring the classification to 66 recognised communities. The Bills were passed with 186 votes in favour, 17 against and six abstentions.

The amendments reduce the OBC reservation quota to 7 per cent and reorganise the OBC categories in line with the Calcutta High Court’s directions.

The 77 Muslim communities had been added to the OBC list by the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government led by Mamata Banerjee. The BJP government, led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, has now reversed those changes and restored the earlier OBC structure that existed before the TMC government’s expansion of the list.

While several Muslim communities such as Jolah (Ansari Momin), Fakir, Pahadia Muslim, Hajjam and Chowduli continue to remain on the OBC list, 77 others added during the TMC regime have been removed.

State Backward Classes Development Minister Gourishankar Ghosh said the amendments were made to comply with court orders and were based on proper surveys. He said many communities added earlier had not undergone the required verification process.

The Bills were opposed by ISF MLA Nawsad Siddiqui and rebel TMC MLA Biswanath Das, while a section of TMC rebels walked out to facilitate smooth passage of the bill. However, 4 TMC Rebels did not walk out and went to CM Suvendu Adhikari to discuss the bill. However, it’s not known if they supported the bill or not. They included Bairon Biswas, Mosarraf Hossain, Kajol Seikh and Tauseffur Rehman.