By PTI
AHMEDABAD: Citing a recent judgement of the Supreme Court, the Gujarat State Election Commission (SEC) has ordered the removal of OBC quota in coming elections to over 3,200 gram panchayats in the state.
While the BJP said it would protect the rights of Other Backward Class (OBC) communities notwithstanding the SEC directive, Congress accused the BJP government of not acting in time.
Under the Gujarat Panchayats Act, ten per cent of seats are reserved for OBC communities in gram panchayat elections.
Earlier this month, the SEC wrote to all district collectors, asking them to convert these 10 per cent seats into general category seats.
Citing the Supreme Court judgement in the Suresh Mahajan versus State of Madhya Pradesh, the SEC said the court, in May, instructed all the state election commissions that instead of waiting for the report of OBC Commissions, they should announce election schedules when elections are due, and convert OBC seats into general category seats.
The court required OBC commission’s report if the states wanted to justify the quota.
Following this judgement, senior Congress MLA Punja Vansh had written to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, asking him to immediately form an OBC Commission.
“Supreme Court had in January asked all the state governments to set up commissions to decide the proportion of OBC reservations. But even after six months, the Gujarat government has not yet formed such a commission,” Vansh had written in the letter.
“As a result, people from OBC communities will not get the benefit of 10 per cent reservation,” he had added.
State Congress president Jagdish Thakor has now called an urgent meeting of the party’s OBC leaders and MLAs in Gandhinagar on Friday to chalk out a strategy over the issue.
Accusing the BJP of planning to scrap reservations, Thakor also announced that Congress workers will stage agitations and submit memorandums to local authorities at all 33 district headquarters on Friday.
The BJP said in a statement that the party will seek legal opinion to ensure that 10 per cent reservation for OBCs remains intact in the coming elections.
“The SEC is an independent body.
It seems that it has taken this decision in haste and without fully reviewing the SC order.
Its order to convert OBC seats into general seats does not make any difference to BJP’s commitment to ensure reservation for OBCs,” it said.
