Yogi welcomes SC decision on ULB polls, says govt committed to OBC reservation

Urban development minister AK Sharma said that the state government, as per the directions of the Supreme Court, will issue a notification on the OBC reservation in the next two days

LUCKNOW Welcoming the Supreme Court decision, which paved the way for holding the urban local body (ULB) polls in Uttar Pradesh, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said that the U.P. government took all necessary steps within the time limit set by the apex court. On Monday, the Supreme Court gave its nod to issue a notification for the election with OBC reservation within two days.

Court directive a blow to Opposition parties that were planning to obstruct elections: BJP (HT Photo)

Soon after the SC go-ahead, CM Yogi said, “The U.P. government is committed to OBC reservation and took all the action within the time limit given by the Supreme Court. Following the rules of reservation in a lawful manner, the U.P. government is committed to conducting ULB elections in a time-bound manner.”

In a similar vein, urban development minister AK Sharma said that the state government, as per the directions of the Supreme Court, will issue a notification on the OBC reservation in the next two days. After the notification, the state election commission will announce the dates to conduct the civic body elections. He also assured people that along with ensuring reservation for all classes in the ULB elections, the state will also ensure that the elections are conducted at the earliest.

While hearing the issue of reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in civic elections, the Supreme Court on Monday accepted the report of the OBC Commission submitted by the U.P. government. The court permitted the state government to issue notification of civic body elections within two days, said a state government official.

The apex court order led to a flurry of political activities in the state as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit out at the Opposition. The saffron party said that the SC order has dealt a severe blow to the plans of the Opposition to obstruct the reservation for OBCs in the civic elections.

BJP state unit president, Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, said, “The BJP government is determined to protect the rights of each community and conduct ULB elections by lawfully making reservations.” In a similar vein, deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said, “The BJP is prepared for the ULB elections.”

Meanwhile, Rajpal Kashyap, the president of Samajwadi Party’s OBC Cell, said, “The SP will continue to fight for the rights of the OBC.” On Monday, the SP released the lists of its office bearers of the various district units, city units, and frontal organisations to prepare the party for the municipal polls. Similarly, the BSP state unit president, Vishwanath Pal, also said that his party has completed meetings in the districts and cities to gear up the cadre for the municipal polls.

A state government spokesperson said, “The Allahabad High Court, in an order on December 5 last year, had directed the government to hold the civic body elections without OBC reservation. Subsequently, the state government constituted the OBC commission and appealed against the high court’s decision in the Supreme Court. The apex court, in its order, directed the OBC commission -- constituted to ensure OBC reservation -- to file its report by March 31, in defiance of the HC order to hold immediate elections.”

The commission visited 75 districts to prepare its report. After the survey, the panel submitted its report to the state government on March 9. The report and recommendations of the commission were filed by the government in the Supreme Court on March 15, the spokesperson added.