SC restores OBC quota, paves way for local body elections in Maharashtra

A protest for OBC reservation, near the Dahisar check post. File pic

The Supreme Court has restored the other backward class (OBC) reservation in the local body polls in Maharashtra, clearing the cloud of uncertainty surrounding it. The top court accepted the report of the dedicated commission that prepared empirical data and completed a triple test the court had ordered 15 months ago. The SC on Wednesday asked the State Election Commission to notify the pending elections within two weeks.

The quota has been capped at 27 per cent, the old cut-off, but it could decrease in the local bodies where the OBCs' population is less than 34 per cent, the figure the commission led by former chief secretary JK Banthia has arrived at. The matter had come up for the then MVA government's attention on December 13, 2019, when the excessive OBC quota in five districts was challenged. The SC stayed the quota and asked to hold elections without it. It asked the state government to complete a triple test. The state's brief was to form a dedicated commission to conduct an empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the OBCs' backwardness; to specify the proportion of reservation required to be provisioned as per the Commission's recommendations and in any case not exceed the aggregate of 50 per cent of the total seats reserved in favour of SCs/STs/OBCs taken together.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

Meanwhile, the then MVA government blamed the Centre for not providing Census data. The BJP countered saying that as per the SC's order, only a dedicated commission constituted by the state could compile the empirical data. The state formed a backward class commission last year, which prepared a report, but the document was trashed by the SC early this year. Following this, a dedicated commission came into being and submitted its report to the new government a week ago. The report was accepted on Wednesday.

DyCM blames MVA for delay

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who took up the matter immediately after taking oath on June 30, said he had promised a resolution within four months from the day the new government took charge. "We have done it. But that does not mean the previous government did not do anything. However, it is also true that they wasted 15 months after the SC asked for a triple test. I have been telling them to follow the SC's directives but they delayed it. If they want to take credit, they should also accept the blame. They could have done it in four months after December 2019, but they were not serious. Even the SC had passed harsh strictures against the MVA government while scrapping a farji [cooked up] report," he told mediapersons after the SC verdict.
Fadnavis said the matter related to certain districts where the quota could be less than 27 per cent would be given attention and efforts made to resolve it in consultation with the opposition.

He said the SEC would be requested to postpone the elections in view of the widespread flood situation in the state.

He said the government was exploring legal options to scrap the delimitation of civic wards done by the MVA. "We have received complaints that the delimitation was done in violation of the SEC provisions."

We did it mostly: Bhujbal

Former NCP minister and OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal, who was thanked in particular by Fadnavis for his role, demanded survey of areas where the quota would decrease. "The data is flawed and the OBC population in the state has been calculated much less than the actual numbers," he said, adding that 99 per cent of the work was done by the MVA government, but he also thanked the new government for submitting the new data and deputing a battery of lawyers who had successfully represented the Madhya Pradesh government in a similar case early this year. He said the OBCs were happy but not content because of a flawed report.