CM to discuss OBC quota with MP CM
HT Correspondent
MUMBAI: Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is expected to discuss the way forward on the Supreme Court’s (SC) order on the political quota for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) with his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Senior ministers said that the two CMS are expected to discuss the possibility of collectively resolving the issue and restoring the quota for OBCS.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Madhya Pradesh State Election Commission to start the election process for the local bodies in two weeks. This comes in the backdrop of the SC, last Wednesday, asking the SEC in Maharashtra to notify election schedules for local bodies within two weeks based on the previous delimitation exercise.
The state cabinet on Wednesday discussed the OBC quota issue where CM Thackeray had said that he would discuss it with the MP CM. An MVA minister said that the state election commission has told the apex court that the pre-poll preparations, including ward finalisation and voter lists, would be ready by September-october. By then, the report of the State Backward Class Commission would be ready, he added.
State housing minister Jitendra Awhad, after the cabinet meeting, said that the decision in the case of MP and Maharashtra meant that it could apply to the whole country, in turn removing 54% of the country’s community from the mainstream. “The decision is to hold the local body elections across the country without the OBC quota. This means that 54% of the country’s community would be left out of the mainstream and it is a decision that would stop the development of the nation,” Awhad said.