The demand to include the Jat community of Delhi in the Central Other Backward Classes (OBC) list has again been revived by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Kejriwal alleged that the Centre has been fooling the Jat community by making false promises for the past ten years.
“Earlier in 2015, BJP leaders invited representatives of the Jat community to the Prime Minister’s residence and committed on record that the Jat community in Delhi will be enlisted in the Central OBC list. In 2019, yet again, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also made the same promise with assurances that this time they will indeed happen. These assurances have not had any action taken on it till now,” Kejriwal said.
The AAP chief complained that the BJP regime did not have a policy to address inequality for the Jat community in Delhi. He pointed out that, for example, Jat students from Rajasthan benefit from reservations at the DU under the Central OBC category, while Delhi students do not. “Delhi is a composition of 15 lac families of Jat community, where delightedly thousands of children are not able to get admission in any branch of DU because they are not in the list of Central OBC,” Kejriwal said.
He also claimed that while the Jat community enjoys the OBC status in the Seventh Schedule of the Delhi state, the Central government has not shown any generosity in including the Jats under it at the Centre. In Kejriwal’s view, this exclusion isolates Jats of Delhi from education and reasonable chances of employment that like-minded Jats in other states access.
Kejriwal appealed to the Centre to act swiftly, meet the promises made to Jats in Delhi, and provide them equal opportunities. He also criticized the BJP for delaying the decision, saying it was a political move. While Delhi looks towards the 2025 elections, Kejriwal’s demand has introduced a new political dimension – the BJP has even criticized the timing of the appeal.
Join our whatsapp group for Latest updates