Fadnavis says state will seek review of SC decision on OBC quota in 96 local bodies

The top court on Thursday came down heavily on SEC for postponing the polls of 92 municipal councils and four nagar panchayats.

Mumbai: Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnaivs on Thursday said that the state government will file a review petition against the Supreme Court’s decision directing the state election commission (SEC) to conduct elections of 92 municipal councils and four nagar panchayats without OBC quota. Fadnavis said that it will be discriminatory for the local bodies if the OBC quota is not made applicable to them as the apex court has approved OBC reservation in the local bodies in Maharashtra. The Supreme Court had on July 20 accepted the recommendations of the Banthia commission providing 27% OBC reservations in local body elections and directed that election for local bodies in the state be notified in the next two weeks.

If not allowed then, 92 of the 400 civic bodies will be left without the OBC quota, he pointed out. (PTI)

The top court on Thursday came down heavily on SEC for postponing the polls of 92 municipal councils and four nagar panchayats. To which the SEC officials said that the decision was taken after the apex court said they wouldn’t interfere in the polls in which the nomination process had already started and for the rest, empowered the poll body to take a decision.

Following this, SEC on July 14 postponed polls for municipal councils and nagar panchayats while continuing its poll process for 271 gram panchayats (village councils) declared on August 4.

“The state government had moved SC saying that the OBC reservation granted by them should be applied to the 92 municipal councils (and four nagar panchayats) as well but the apex court refused to make the changes. We will again file a review petition pleading the same once again as the OBC reservation is applicable in all the other local bodies of the state,” Fadnavis said.

If not allowed then, 92 of the 400 civic bodies will be left without the OBC quota, he pointed out.

“Our line of argument will be that if OBC reservation is made applicable to 29,000 gram panchayats (village council), 34 zilla parishad (district council) and over 300 municipal councils then why 92 municipal councils (and four nagar panchayats) are deprived of it,” the deputy chief minister said.

On Thursday, a bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar, AS Oka and JB Pardiwala made it clear that SEC cannot re-notify the poll programme to provide OBC reservations in the concerned local bodies. It also warned the poll body of contempt.

Meanwhile, the state government promulgated an ordinance allowing the direct election of sarpanch (village heads) from the people. The ordinance was issued by the state rural development department on July 27. The state urban development department also issued another ordinance for the direct election of municipal council presidents from the people on July 14.