MVA favours seeking PM’s intervention

NCP delegation meets State OBC Commission and urges to provide empirical data at the earliest

A day after the Supreme Court ordered the State Election Commission (SEC) to declare a poll schedule for civic and local bodies in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday held a meeting with senior ministers and advocate general to discuss the fall out of the apex court’s order.

Veteran NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who heads the Samata Parishad, suggested that the state government should seek the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the restoration of 27% reservation to the Other Backward Class (OBC) in local bodies as the issue is not merely restricted to Maharashtra but also to other states too.

There was unanimity that the OBCs cannot be left out of the electoral process as they should get their due quota and, therefore, PM’s intervention needs to be sought on a priority basis.

Bhujbal told the Free Press Journal, "The advocate general explained the

SC order and the way forward. It was decided to wait till the apex court delivers its order on the Madhya Pradesh case."

Bhujbal said empirical data on the OBC community in Maharashtra is being collected by a dedicated commission and the task will be completed within one-and-ahalf months. Compiling empirical data of the OBC population is one of the Supreme Court-mandated 'triple test' to decide about restoring the political quota of the community.

Bhujbal, a prominent OBC leader in the state, said the

SEC will take a call on the election schedule.

State OBC commission headed by Jayant Kumar Banthia, a former chief secretary of the state, is working on completing the task of collecting the empirical data in time, said Bhujbal, adding that the task will be completed in one-and-a-half months.

Meanwhile, an NCP delegation met the State OBC Commission and requested to provide the empirical data at the earliest. Bhujbal said the state government would extend full cooperation to the Commission.