With Calcutta High Court nullifying all OBC certificates issued by West Bengal government between 2010 and 2024, and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee preparing to challenge the verdict in the apex court after summer vacation, the issue of reservation, particularly for minorities, has taken centrestage in the current general elections. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, in their election rallies on Friday, alleged that the Congress wants to implement ‘Shariat’ (Muslim personal laws) in the country and reduce quotas for SC, ST and OBCs in order to give reservation to Muslims. Yogi Adityanath even alleged that the Congress and INDI alliance parties want to implement Taliban laws by asking women to come out of their homes wearing ‘burqa’. Addressing rallies in Jharkhand and Bihar, Home Minister Amit Shah alleged that Muslim reservation is on the top of the agenda of Congress and INDI alliance parties. “They tried to implement Muslim reservation in Bengal, but the High Court nullified their measures,” Amit Shah said. In reply, Mamata Banerjee vowed to continue reservation for “Backward Muslim castes”. Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav said, there was no harm in giving reservation to Muslims, while Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar claimed that he had given reservation to Muslims in Maharashtra nearly 20 years ago. On his part, Prime Minister Modi pledged that his government would implement uniform civil code and Citizenship Amendment Act during his third term.
