After Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari sought clarification on promulgation of an ordinance to restore OBC reservation in rural local bodies, the state cabinet on Wednesday approved an amendment to the proposal. It will again be sent for the approval of the Governor.
Last week, months after the Supreme Court scrapped the OBC quota in local bodies, the cabinet brought in an ordinance to restore the OBC quota in addition to reservation for scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) within the 50 per cent reservation limit. had decided. in rural local bodies.
However, the Governor has sent the file back to the government, raising the legal issue of bringing this ordinance to the notice of the Supreme Court.
“Our Law and Judiciary Department had mentioned on file that the Supreme Court should be informed about the decision. The Governor has taken up the issue and sent the file back to us. We will reform today’s cabinet and then send it to the governor,” Rural Development Minister Hassan Mushrif said earlier in the day.
Hence, the proposal was reconsidered in the cabinet later in the day. Amending its decision, the cabinet said that OBCs will get a maximum of 27 percent reservation but the total reservation of SC, ST and OBC will not exceed the 50 percent reservation limit.
“As an interim provision, the Rural Development Department will take immediate action to promulgate an ordinance, subject to the SC order of a maximum of 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in local bodies and the total reservation not exceeding 50 per cent. Since this ordinance is subject to the orders of the SC, there is no need to seek the approval of the SC again,” the statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Secretariat said.
Interestingly, the governor’s move to send the file back to the government comes in the backdrop of a fresh war of letters between Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and them. The governor first wrote to the chief minister asking him to consider holding a two-day session of the legislature to discuss crimes against women in the backdrop of the horrific rape of a homeless woman in Mumbai earlier this month.
In response, Thackeray asked Koshyari to convene a four-day Parliament session from the Prime Minister and the Home Minister on the national issue of crimes against women exposing Hathras, Unnao and Badaun’s image of Delhi as the “rape capital”. should request. Gang rape in Uttar Pradesh and similar incidents in Uttarakhand and Gujarat, all BJP-Governed state.
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