Gujjars entitled for 21 per cent quota under OBC too: Rajasthan govt

The five castes under the most backward class (MBC) are (1)Banjara/Baldia/Labana, (2) Gadia-Lohar/Gadalia, (3) Gujjar/Gurjar, (4) Raika/Rebari and (5) Gadaria (Gaadri) who were initially enlisted in the OBC since 1994.

The directive, dated July 1 and issued by the Department of Personnel (DoP) for recruitment and admission separately, said that candidates (belonging to the above five castes) who are not selected on the basis of merit in the general category, will be given preference under the OBC (21 per cent) and then under the MBC (1 per cent) during admission and recruitment.

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

The notification providing one per cent reservation under the MBC was issued on December 21 last year. However, despite the notice, communities complained of not getting proper advantages.

“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 Aaraksan Sangharsh Samiti said.