Bengal Assembly passes two bills reducing OBC quota to 7% from 17%

The West Bengal Legislative Assembly has officially passed two crucial Bills to reform the Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation framework. Tabled by State Backward Classes Welfare Minister Gourishankar Ghosh, the legislations passed with an overwhelming majority of 186 votes in favor and 17 against, while six members chose to abstain. The legislative action directly responds to the directions issued by the Calcutta High Court to correct previous process anomalies.

The structural changes revise the state’s total OBC reservation cap from 17% down to 7% and strip away 113 community classes that were added without proper empirical field studies. Meanwhile, the state government has retained 66 sub-classes whose inclusions were backed by valid historical surveys. The newly approved amendments legally empower the state administration to dynamically adjust reservation brackets for various OBC divisions moving forward.

The house session experienced intense political friction as a faction of rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmakers staged a walkout during the proceedings. Led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, the dissenting group exited the floor just before the final division of votes occurred. Defending the legislative changes, Minister Ghosh maintained that the state holds no political motives and is solely focused on restoring statutory order.