New Delhi [India], January 11: Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav on Saturday accused the Delhi government of failing to introduce any new policies for the welfare of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) over the past decade.
Yadav also raised concerns about the silence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal regarding the alleged removal of the Jat community from the OBC list, questioning why Kejriwal had not taken action when the Jats were allegedly “ousted.”
“Delhi’s OBC list has included the Jat community since the time of Sheila Dikshit. The second UPA government granted OBC status to the Jat community in seven states, but this was challenged in the Supreme Court in 2014. Since the issue was not pursued effectively by the NDA government, the Jats were removed from the OBC list. Where was Arvind Kejriwal during this time?” Yadav told ANI.
He further pointed out that the Delhi government’s Environment Department had vacancies for engineers but did not consider the Jat community for these positions. “The Jat community could have benefited from this, but no new schemes for the OBCs have been introduced in the last 10 years. Children are not receiving scholarships either,” Yadav added.
This statement follows a letter from former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the inclusion of Delhi’s Jat community in the central OBC list. Kejriwal accused the BJP-led central government of “cheating” the Jat community in the name of OBC reservation for the past decade.
The Delhi assembly elections are scheduled for February 5, with vote counting taking place on February 8. The last date for filing nominations is January 17, followed by scrutiny of nominations on January 18 and the withdrawal deadline on January 20.
The upcoming elections are expected to be a three-way contest between the ruling AAP, BJP, and Congress. Congress, which governed Delhi for 15 consecutive years, has faced setbacks in the past two assembly elections, failing to win any seats. In contrast, AAP dominated the 2020 assembly elections, securing 62 out of 70 seats, while the BJP won eight seats.