Gujjars entitled to 21 pct quota under OBC category too?

The Rajasthan government has clarified that five castes, including Gujjars, under the most backward classes (MBC), are also entitled to the 21 per cent quota under the OBC category for admission to educational institutions and recruitment in government jobs in the state. According to orders issued by the Department of Personnel (DoP), the most backward classes are also entitled to the 21 per cent reservation under Other Backward Classes (OBC) category also.

Apart from Gujjars, the other MBC castes are: Banjara/Baldia/Labana, Gadia-Lohar/Gadalia, Raika/Rebari and Gadaria (Gaadri), who were initially enlisted in the OBC category since 1994.

Rajasthan's Social Justice and Empowerment minister Arun Chaturvedi said the notification issued for giving one per cent reservation under the MBC category in December 2017 was not being implemented properly by different departments due to lack of clarity in its language.

Therefore, a clarification has been issued last night by the department of personnel, Chaturvedi told reporters on Monday.

The candidates (of these five MBC castes) if not selected on the basis of merit in the general category will be considered first under the OBC (21 per cent) and then under the MBC (1 per cent) in admissions and recruitments, according to the two orders issued by the state government.

It was brought to the notice of the government that the most backward classes were being considered only for the MBC reservation and the guidelines for the reservation were not being followed properly, the orders stated.

The state government had issued a notification for giving one per cent reservation under the MBC category on December 21, 2017, but the communities were not getting proper advantage.

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Yesterday, the state's Parliamentary Affairs minister Rajendra Rathore had assured Gurjar leaders in a meeting that orders will be issued at the earliest after community leaders threatened to stage a protest during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Jaipur visit on July 7.

"Two orders have been issued and we are satisfied over this. We will now withdraw the call to protest during the prime minister's visit," Himmat Singh, spokesperson of the Gurjar Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti said.