Bhopal — The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress exchanged sharp political accusations following a ruling by the Madhya Pradesh High Court that struck down a 2019 law increasing Other Backward Classes reservation from 14 percent to 27 percent, thereby reinstating the original 14 percent cap.
The judicial bench ruled that the quota enhancement violated the 50 percent reservation threshold mandated by the Supreme Court, noting the absence of any extraordinary conditions that could justify the expansion. This decision drew immediate political fallout, with the Congress blaming the ruling administration for undermining backward class welfare, while the BJP faulted the previous Kamal Nath administration for procedural flaws during the 2019 legislative push.
State Congress chief Jitu Patwari alleged that the BJP government and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav orchestrated a conspiracy against the OBC community. He announced that the opposition party plans to contest the decision in the Supreme Court to sustain its push for a 27 percent quota in the state.
Rejecting these allegations, BJP state president Hemant Khandelwal countered that the Kamal Nath administration rushed the documentation in 2019 without proper factual verification. Speaking to the press in Indore, Khandelwal mentioned he had conferred with Chief Minister Yadav regarding the judgment, following a state cabinet meeting held to deliberate on subsequent legal options.
Khandelwal emphasized that the ruling party remains dedicated to the welfare of backward classes and that the administration would execute all required measures. Meanwhile, former Madhya Pradesh State Backward Classes Commission chairman J P Dhanopia contended that the outcome demonstrated the current government's poor intentions and asserted that authorities failed to adequately defend the case in court.
With OBC residents representing over half of the population in Madhya Pradesh and upcoming assembly elections scheduled for late 2028, the court's latest mandate has reignited a fierce statewide debate over affirmative action.