Arvind Kejriwal writes to PM Modi, seeks inclusion of Jats in OBC list

Arvind Kejriwal accused the centre of betraying the Jat community in Delhi in the past decade and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to include the Jat community in the OBC list for reservations in education and jobs.

In Short

• Arvind Karjriwal accuses BJP of neglecting Jats
• AAP chief to meet Election Commission over voter list allegations
• AAP claims BJP is targeting certain voter groups in Delhi

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the central government to include the Jat community in the list of Other Backward Classes (OBC), thereby facilitating reservations in education and jobs. He accused the Centre of betraying the Jats for the past 10 years, and alleged that the BJP remembers the Jats only when the election approaches.

Delhi will go to the polls in a single phase on February 5 to elect 70 members to the Assembly. The Jats hold significant influence in Delhi, as the community is estimated to make up about 8-10 per cent of the electorate.

"The Jat community of Delhi has been betrayed by Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the BJP for the past 10 years. The Jat community of Delhi does not receive reservation in any college, university, or institution of the Central Government. The Prime Minister and Home Minister only remember the Jats of Delhi before the elections," Kejriwal said at a press conference in New Delhi on Friday.

In his letter to the Prime Minister, Kejriwal highlighted that Jat community members from Rajasthan are granted OBC reservation benefits under the central list, while those from the same community in Delhi are denied these benefits at central institutions such as 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.

He urged the Centre to abandon its "biased attitude" towards the Jat community and five other OBC castes, emphasising the need to promptly "correct the anomalies" in the Central OBC list.

KEJRIWAL TO MEET ELECTION COMMISSION

The AAP chief is scheduled to meet the Election Commission later today to raise concerns regarding the alleged manipulation of the voter list in Delhi. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, and MP Sanjay Singh will accompany Kejriwal.

The AAP has accused the BJP of attempting to remove members of Dalit communities, slum dwellers, and Poorvanchalis from the voter list--a charge that the saffron party has rejected.

Kejriwal also expressed hope of retaining power in Delhi, asserting that the election in Delhi is a contest between AAP and the BJP. "This is not the election of the India Alliance," he stressed.

The Delhi Legislative Assembly election is scheduled for February 5 and the counting of votes will take place on February 8.