OBC reservation bill: Yadav, Kurmi and Gurjar will be removed from the reservation list! Why did Ram Gopal Yadav expressed this apprehension, know the meaning of these castes in UP?

Lucknow
The OBC Reservation Bill has got the support of the opposition, but many parties have demanded to increase the scope of reservation from 50 percent. After Akhilesh Yadav in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav also raised the same point in Rajya Sabha today. With this, Ram Gopal Yadav also expressed a apprehension. During the discussion on the bill in the Rajya Sabha, Ramgopal said that there is a discussion that after the bill becomes law, three castes- Yadav, Gurjar and Kurmi will be removed from the OBC list in UP. Know further, the meaning of this statement of Ram Gopal Yadav and the power of these castes in UP politics-

Ram Gopal Yadav’s statement in Parliament
First of all know what Ram Gopal Yadav said in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday? The SP MP said, after the bill becomes a law, the states which will get the right to amend the list, will not be of any use unless the cap on the limit of reservation is increased to 50 percent. He further said, ‘The castes which are in the OBC list now, apart from them, new castes will be added. Suppose 7 per cent of the new castes were added. There is 27 per cent reservation for backward castes in UP, 7 per cent more if new castes come, the existing OBC communities will suffer.

With this, Ram Gopal Yadav said, ‘I have an apprehension that when the new list is made, the BJP government will exclude three castes from the existing OBC castes – Yadav, Kurmi and Gurjar from the list. This is a discussion now and it will happen in the future. Finding some excuse or the other, these castes will be thrown out.

What is the meaning of Ramgopal’s statement?
Ram Gopal Yadav has hit two targets with one arrow with this statement. In fact, there are elections in UP next year and the SP does not want its biggest core voter Yadavs to be excluded from this list and they have to be fascinated by the benefits of reservation. At the same time, according to sources, the SP has also targeted the Yogi government to set the narrative that BJP is snatching the reservation of these backward castes. These days all the parties in UP are doing politics to woo the backward vote bank and are trying to prove themselves as their well-wishers.

Yadav and Kurmi most prosperous castes
It is believed that Yadav, Kurmi, Jat and Kushwaha communities have benefited the most from OBC reservation in UP, while other backward castes have been demanding reservation for a long time. In the year 2018, the Yogi government had constituted a 4-member Uttar Pradesh Backward Classes Social Justice Committee. This committee had described the Yadav and Kurmi castes as prosperous. According to the report of the committee, both the Yadav and Kurmi castes are not only culturally but economically and politically capable.

The report also said that employment opportunities for extremely backward classes in UP are half that of the population, while some sub-castes like Yadavs and Kurmis are getting more job opportunities. Those who can be placed in the category of middle class. In such a situation, the SP fears that the Yogi government may exclude these parties from the reservation list after getting the right to amend.

Yadav, Kurmi and Gurjar population in UP
Now come to the assessment of these castes. According to the census, Yadavs constitute 9 percent of the total population of UP, while the share of Yadavs in OBC castes is about 20 percent. Yadav has been CM from the society five times in UP. For the first time in 1977, Ramnaresh Yadav became the CM from here. At present, this community is the core voter of the Samajwadi Party. Yadav voters have been standing with the SP for a long time in the same way as Dalits have stood with the BSP.

The population of Kurmi community in UP is said to be around 12 per cent, although this is not an official figure. This society is considered as the core vote bank of Apna Dal, an ally of BJP. Apart from this, BJP state president Swatantra Dev Singh also comes from this community. At the same time, the eyes of the SP are also on the Kurmi community. Naresh Uttam Patel, who comes from this community, has been given the command in UP by the party.

Talking about the Gujjar community, their dominance in western UP is said to be equal to that of the Jats. Gujjars dominate in about 6 districts there. The largest population is said to be in Gautam Budh Nagar. There are about 3 lakh Gujjar voters here. After this, their population is said to be around 1.5 lakh in Saharanpur, Meerut-Hapur, Amroha and Ghaziabad. The most recognized leader of Gurjar society was Hukum Singh of BJP, although after his death, at present, no big face of Gujjars has been made in West UP.