Ahmedabad, 8 Jul: Amid a row over OBC quota in the Gujarat panchayat polls, the BJP government in the state on Friday announced the formation of an indepen-dent commission to collect and analyse data about the nature and implications of backwardness in the local bodies.
A state government release said Chief Minister Bhuepndra Patel took the decision to form an independent commission to ensure members of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities get adequate representation in local body polls.
The commission, being formed as per the directives of the Supreme Court, will be headed by retired Gujarat High Court Judge KS Jhaveri and it will collect and analyse data about the nature and implications of the backwardness in the local bodies, the release further informed.
As directed by the apex court, seats to be reserved for OBC candidates in each local body will be decided as per the recommendations of the commission following a detailed study, it added.
Under the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 10 per cent seats are reserved for OBC communities in gram panchayat elections.
Earlier this month, citing a recent SC judgement, the Gujarat State Election Commission (SEC) wrote to all district collectors asking them to convert these 10 per cent seats into general category seats in the upcoming elections to over 3,200 gram panchayats.
The SEC said the apex court had directed all state election commissions to announce poll schedules where they are due by converting OBC seats into general category ones instead of waiting for the report from OBC commissions.
While the BJP said it would protect OBC rights notwithstanding the SEC directive, the opposition Congress accused the BJP government of not acting in time.
Following this SC judgement, senior Congress MLA Punja Vansh had written to CM Patel seeking immediate formation of an OBC commission.
“The Supreme Court had, in January, asked all the state governments to set up commissions to decide the proportion of OBC reserva-tions. But even after six mo-nths, the Gujarat govern-ment has not yet formed such a commission,” Vansh wrote.
As a result, people from OBC communities will not get the benefit of 10 per cent reservation, he added in his letter. (PTI)