The Supreme Court has rejected the interim findings of the backward classes panel, which is a setback for MVA

The Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission (MSBCC), headed by Justice (Retired) A V Nirgude, submitted an interim report strongly recommending the restoration of 27% political quota in local bodies, subject to a permissible upper limit of 50%, excluding statutory reservation for SC and ST, which was rejected by the Supreme Court on Thursday.

 

The court ordered the State of Maharashtra and the State Election Commission (SEC) not to act on the interim report, citing the lack of empirical investigation and research. The state cabinet, led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, met minutes after the Supreme Court verdict and unanimously resolved that no elections would be held without an OBC quota. In the state, elections are scheduled for 15 Municipal Corporations, 25 Zilla Parishads and 232 Nagar Parishads. The Supreme Court's decision came on the first day of the state legislature's four-week budget session.

 

The Supreme Court has ordered the SEC to declare all seats reserved for OBCs available and hold elections. Interestingly, the SEC will wait until March 5 for reports on ward delimitation from 15 municipal corporations before deciding on the next line of action. "We are expecting the SC judgement and will take a call on OBC reservation for local entities," a senior SEC official told The Free Press Journal.

 

"It will take some time to assemble the empirical data on OBC in the state," said NCP Minister and Samata Parishad founder Chhagan Bhujbal, who had filed the review appeal against the highest court's order eliminating the OBC quota. The Supreme Court stated that the interim report lacked sufficient political representation statistics.

 

The MSBCC promised Bhujbal that it might compile a new report if the State Election Commission delivers data on political representation, according to Bhujbal. He stated, "Elections should not be held without an OBC quota." Furthermore, Bhujbal said that the Supreme Court had explicitly indicated that elections to Municipal Corporations would be held even if their terms had long since ended. He emphasised that the collection of empirical data on OBCs will take time.

 

 

Devendra Fadnavis, the Leader of the Opposition, stated that the BJP will firmly oppose holding local body elections without an OBC quota. "We'll fight for it no matter what it takes." "The BJP will be a strong supporter of the OBC group," he continued.

 

 

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