Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Monday introduced two key amendment Bills in the Assembly to revamp the state's Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation system and strengthen the powers of the West Bengal Backward Classes Commission.

The Bills, tabled by Backward Classes Welfare Minister Gourishankar Ghosh, are currently under discussion in the House.

The government said the proposed legislation aims to amend the 2012 OBC reservation law enacted during the Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime, alleging that the previous framework discriminated against Hindus in matters relating to OBC classification.

One of the proposed laws, The West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than SC and ST) Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts (Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeks to remove the existing Schedule I that lists 65 communities under Category A and 78 communities under Category B.

Instead, the state government, in consultation with the Backward Classes Commission, will classify OBC communities into different categories based on their degree of social and educational backwardness.

The Bill also empowers the state government to determine reservation percentages for various OBC categories after consulting the Commission. While reservation quotas may be revised, the total reservation in the state will remain capped at 50%.

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An infographic summarises the key provisions of the West Bengal OBC Amendment Bills, 2026, highlighting proposed changes to the state's OBC reservation framework and expanded powers of the Backward Classes Commission. (Credit: AI)

The second legislation, The West Bengal Backward Classes Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026, proposes to strengthen the Commission's functioning by expanding its powers and redefining the eligibility criteria for its Member Secretary.

Under the amendment, an officer of the rank of Joint Secretary or above can be appointed to the post instead of only a Secretary-rank officer.

The Commission will also be empowered to examine requests for inclusion of communities in the OBC list, hear complaints regarding inclusion or exclusion, and make recommendations to the state government.

According to the Bill, the Commission's advice or recommendations will generally be treated as binding on the government.

The amendments come against the backdrop of prolonged controversy over OBC reservations in West Bengal.

During the TMC government's tenure, the reservation policy came under judicial scrutiny following allegations of irregularities in issuing OBC certificates.

The current government says the amendments are intended to replace the 2012 framework and create a more transparent, legally robust system for identifying and extending reservation benefits to backward classes.

The Assembly session also witnessed brief disruptions before the day's proceedings began, with allegations being raised against MLA Humayun Kabir over his reported provocative remarks.

Earlier, Speaker Rathindra Bose announced that mangoes and honey would be distributed among legislators during the session.