AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the central government to include the Jat community in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category to ensure reservations in education and employment. In his letter, Kejriwal accused the Centre of betraying the Jat community over the past decade and alleged that the BJP only acknowledges the community during election periods.
In his letter to Prime Minister Modi, Arvind Kejriwal pointed out that members of the Jat community from Rajasthan receive OBC reservation benefits under the central list, while their counterparts in Delhi are denied these benefits at central institutions like Delhi University.
"There are seven universities of the central government in Delhi. There are dozens of colleges of Delhi University. There are jobs in many institutions of the central government like Delhi Police, NDMC, DDA, AIIMS, Safdarjung, Ram Manohar Lohia in which the rules of the central government are applicable. In such a situation, due to this breach of promise by the central government, injustice is being done to thousands of youth of the OBC community of Delhi," Kejriwal said in the letter.
"Delhi government OBC list consists of the Jat community, but the OBC list of the centre does not consist of the Jat community of Delhi. The Jat community students of Delhi do not get admission to Delhi University. Central government institutions do not offer reservations to the Jat community of Delhi. This is injustice for the Jat community living in Delhi," said Arvind Kejriwal.
Delhi will hold a single-phase election on February 5 to elect 70 members to the Assembly. The Jat community, which is estimated to comprise 8-10 percent of the electorate, holds significant influence in the capital's political landscape.