Supreme Court order: Maharashtra CM to discuss way forward to restore OBC quota with his Madhya Pradesh counterpart

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will discuss the way forward to restore the OBC quota with his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan in view of the Supreme Court’s order directing the State Election Commission (SEC) in MP to notify local body polls within two weeks sans the Other Backward Classes reservation. A Maharashtra cabinet minister informed on Wednesday that the state election commission has told the Supreme Court that the pre-poll process for the delimitation of wards and finalisation of electoral rolls will be completed by October-November.

“Till then the State Backward Class Commission’s report will be completed. We will submit that report to the Supreme Court. CM Thackeray will speak to the MP chief minister on steps being taken by the neighbouring state and what can be done collectively to restore the OBC quota,” he said.

The apex court on Tuesday directed the Madhya Pradesh SEC to notify the local body polls in two weeks without the OBC quota.

A similar order was passed for Maharashtra earlier.

After the SC verdict, the Madhya Pradesh chief minister said his government will file a review petition and push for holding local body elections with the OBC reservation.

The apex court, in its verdict, said until the triple test exercise, which was mentioned in a Constitution bench verdict of 2010, is completed in all respect, no reservation for the OBCs can be provisioned.

The triple condition included setting up a dedicated commission to conduct a rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of backwardness local body-wise within a state before provisioning the reservation for the OBC category.