Gujarat govt to form commission to analyse poll body order of removal of OBC quota in local bodies

|HT|

The Gujarat government has decided to form an independent commission to collect and analyse data about the nature and implications of other backward class (OBC) representation in the local bodies, an official release said. The decision comes in the wake of a row after the state election commission earlier this month ordered removal of OBC quota in the upcoming elections for more than 3,200 gram panchayats in Gujarat.

“The decision has been taken to ensure members of the OBC communities get adequate representation in local body polls,” the release said.

The commission, being formed as per the directives of the Supreme Court, will be headed by retired Gujarat high court judge KS Jhaveri, it said.

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% of seats were reserved for OBC communities in gram panchayat elections. The state election commission’s decision to cancel it drew criticism from political parties. Sagar Rabari, Aam Aadmi Party’ Gujarat vice president, in a press conference on July 6 said that the SEC decision leaves a large section of people from the OBC community deprived of their democratic and constitutional rights.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)