CM Bhupendra Patel said the decision was to keep all sections of society together. (File)
Gandhinagar:
The Gujarat government’s decision to grant a 27 percent reservation to other backward classes in local self-governing bodies sparked a mixed reaction on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Bhupendra Patel and other BJP leaders welcoming the move, while the Congress called the measure an attempt. to “cheat” members of the OBC community.
Mr Patel and BJP head of state CR Paatil said the decision was aimed at keeping all sections of society together.
However, Congress Legislative Party Leader Amit Chavda called the decision – taken on the basis of the Justice Jhaveri Commission report – the BJP’s attempt to “mislead and defraud” members of the OBC community and challenged the leaders of the ruling parties for a public debate on the issue. problem.
Isudan Gadhvi, head of the Gujarat Aam Aadmi party, said the decision was taken only after the OBC community put up a united front on the reservation issue and because the BJP feared losing their support in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP has always made efforts to make progress by bringing together people from different castes, communities and religions. The decision to give a 27 percent reservation to the OBC community in local agencies is a step in the right direction. of the same effort,” said Mr. Patel.
The Prime Minister along with Mr. Paatil addressed a joint press conference at the BJP’s state headquarters “Kamalam” where the decision was welcomed with many crackers.
Mr Patel said arrangements have also been made to ensure non-OBC communities are not affected by the reservation measure.
Mr. Paatil thanked the state government and chief minister for the decision and said that 52 percent of the population in Gujarat belong to the OBC community.
“Government of Gujarat has made the decision to reserve 27 percent of seats for OBCs (in local bodies). A whopping 52 percent of the population in Gujarat belong to OBCs, and of the 156 BJP MLAs, 50 are from the community. This clearly means that the party brings together both OBCs and other communities,” said the BJP president.
“The decision was made in accordance with the guidelines of the Supreme Court. At the same time, efforts have been made to ensure that existing reservations for SC/ST communities are not compromised,” said Mr. Paatil.
He said the quota move will satisfy as many as 134 castes that fall under the OBC category and they will be happy to finally get their political rights.
Congress Mr. Chavda said that the BJP government was hesitant in forming a committee to deliberate on the OBC quota issue and then make recommendations, then took time to implement the Jhaveri panel report.
Massive agitation from the OBC community was needed for the government to make a decision on the quota issue, the opposition MLA said.
The government has scrapped the 10 percent reservation for OBCs in local agencies following the 2021 Supreme Court order in an attempt to erase the political existence of OBCs for local agencies, Chavda claimed.
“The way the minister (Rushikesh Patel, who is also a government spokesperson) made the announcement shows that the intention of the government was not correct. The guidelines of the Supreme Court and the recommendation of the commission have not been followed and the government has misled and deceived the people. (of the OBC community),’ he claimed.
“I invite BJP leaders to discuss the issue (OBC reservation) and the committee report and SC guidelines,” he added.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Gadhvi claimed that the BJP government was planning to remove the reservations of SC/ST/OBC, and that an attempt had been made to suppress the report of the Jhaveri commission.
“The BJP government has conspired over the years to abolish the 27 percent OBC reservation. But luckily the OBCs showed unity, people from the community came forward, held small and large gatherings to expose this government conspiracy,” said Gadhvi. .
