We do not practice the politics of the comfort : Om Prakash Rajbhar

A day after the state BJP president Mahendra Nath Pande warned the dissident party leaders and leaders of the ally parties, the Suheldeo Bharat Samaj Party president and cabinet minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has said `whatever be the political consequences he would continue to  fight for the rights and the dignity of the  dalits and OBCs in UP’’.

“We do not practice the politics of the comfort and privileges and we are in politics to fight for the rights of the poor and the downtrodden. Whatever be the consequences my struggle will continue as the fight for the due share of the dalits and OBCs in the power structure is the motto of my politics’’, said the cabinet minister Om Prakash Rajbhar in Jaunpur on Monday. The state BJP president had on Sunday   that such leaders should mend their ways otherwise the party leadership will have to take tough stand on this issue.

For the last two months Rajbhar is running relentless campaign against the chief minister Yogi Adityanath and creating embarrassing situation for the government.  He has alleged that the chief minister has no control over the bureaucracy and there is sharp rise in corruption ever since the BJP came to power.

Om Prakash Rajbhar said that all the castes listed in OBCs list aren’t getting a fair share in the 27 per cent quota in government jobs and educational institutions. He has a formula-break up the quota into three subcategories.   He however added that BJP president has assured that Quota within Quota will be implemented six months before Lok Sabha Election.

Om Prakash Rajbhar a vocal proponent of breaking up the 27 per cent quota into three subcategories—‘backward’, ‘extremely backward’ and ‘most backward’. He   said he has worked out the formula based on the extent of backwardness and population of communities.  He said it’s not a new formula as it was recommended by the Social justice committee appointed by then BJP chief minister Rajnath Singh in 2001. 

“It is high time that this formula in OBCs reservation is implemented in UP. Twelve other states, including Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, have implemented it successfully. It is a must that all communities get a fair share in the social justice system. It is also important that it gets implemented before the Lok Sabha election’’, said Om Prakash Rajbhar.

The SBSP leader said the castes listed in OBCs category are not getting their

fair share. The dominant OBC castes—Yadav, Sonar, Jat and Patel have cornered the major share of benefits of reservation which is much higher to their share in states population.   Based on figures that were given in the Allahabad High Court in 2013, Sonars have availed 61 per cent more benefit than what accrues to them according to their population; Jats have got 51 per cent more and Yadavs, nearly 50 per cent more. The same is the case among the Dalits. The Jatavs, Chamars and Dhusiyas have cornered 90 per cent more benefits of SC/ST quota than what their population entails. In the process, the other backward and weaker communities have been relegated to the sidelines without getting the benefits due to them. ``We only want that each community should get its due share’’, said Om Prakash Rajbhar.

He said the social Justice committee had recommended to split the 27 percent quota for the OBCs into three categories —backward, extremely backward and most backward, or categories them into ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’. Category A can include dominant castes like Yadav, Ahir,  Kurmi, Lodh and Jats and  B can include extremely backward communities like Maurya, Kushwaha/Koeri, Shakya and Saini; and category C can include the most backwards like Mallah, Nishad, Badai and Lohar.  The committee had recommended  that the dominant castes should get about five to six per cent from the 27 per cent quota, the extremely backward category should have seven to eight per cent quota, while the most backward category should get maximum 13-14 per cent share.