- By Shubham Bajpai
- Mon, 29 Jun 2026 11:24 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- West Bengal Assembly passed two key OBC amendment Bills.
- 77 communities, including 75 Muslims, removed from OBC list.
- OBC quota revised to 7% following High Court directives.
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Monday passed two Bills, The West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and The West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes (Amendment) Bill, 2026, to amend the erstwhile Trinamool Congress-era Act of 2012 concerning the reservations of classes under the OBC category in the state.
The legislation went through a division of votes, sought by ISF MLA Nawsad Siddiqui, who, alongside rebel TMC MLA Biswanath Das, opposed the Bills on grounds of violation of social justice for the backward classes. They sought the bills to be sent to a select committee.
Meanwhile, a section of rebel TMC MLAs, led by LoP Ritabrata Banerjee, staged a walkout.
What the bill actually changed
The West Bengal Commission for Backwards Classes (Amendment) Bill, 2026, passed with the support of 186 MLAs, included 66 classes under the OBC category to provide them with reservation. Earlier, the TMC government had expanded the list to include a total of 143 communities in the OBC lists.
ALSO READ: WB Assembly Passes OBC Amendment Bill To Grant Reservation To 66 Classes
The bill also revised the quota structure from the earlier 17 per cent to 7 per cent in line with Calcutta High Court 2024 directives. The OBC quota, divided into two lists, A and B, had 10 per cent for former and 7 per cent for the latter.
"We have removed 113 classes included earlier without conducting any field survey, and retained 66 sub-classes, which were included following various surveys," Backwards Classes Development minister Gourishankar Ghosh told the House.
Reorganisation of OBC categories, replacing the earlier framework that had come under judicial scrutiny.
The bills codify and implement the May overhaul, according to which 77 communities, 75 Muslims and two Hindus, were removed from the OBC category.