India News | BJP Committed to Provide Reservation to OBCs in Gujarat Local Body Polls, Says Paatil

Ahmedabad, Aug 24 (PTI) Gujarat BJP president C R Paatil on Wednesday said his party strongly favours reservation for the Other Backward Classes candidates in local body polls, and that it will make a representation to the government-appointed commission whenever it calls for a discussion on the issue.

Also Read | Yogi Government Policies Helped Youth Become Job Creators: Survey.

His statement came a month after the BJP government in the state announced the formation of an independent commission to collect and analyse data about the nature and implications of backwardness in local bodies, an exercise necessary for fixing OBC quota in panchayat polls.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: Toll Tariff for Yamuna Expressway between Greater Noida and Agra Hiked.

"BJP is committed to the OBC quota in local bodies. We will make a strong representation about reservation of OBC candidates whenever the state government-appointed commission calls us for a discussion on the issue," Paatil tweeted on Wednesday evening.

In July this year, the state government had said in a statement that Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had taken a 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, formed as per the directives of the Supreme Court, is headed by retired Gujarat High Court Judge K S Jhaveri.

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.

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 judgment, 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.

This led to a huge controversy as the opposition Congress accused the BJP of trying to remove reservation for OBCs and had launched an agitation.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)