OBC quota: CM Bommai to hold meeting soon

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said he will soon convene a meeting to discuss the Supreme Court’s order against providing reservation to OBCs in local bodies.

The Supreme Court recently decided to strike down 27% reservation in favour of OBCs in local bodies made by Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh governments. This will impact the already-delayed elections to the zilla and taluk panchayats and the Bengaluru civic body.

“I’m calling a meeting in the backdrop of the Supreme Court order and its implications regarding OBC reservation, which applies to all states,” Bommai said.

“We will discuss what the current situation in our state is. We will decide how we can conduct elections by preserving the existing OBC reservation,” he said.

Also read: Dalit, OBC seers call on Karnataka CM Bommai, seek funds, special programmes

The zilla-taluk panchayat elections were due in May-June last year. The BBMP election, too, should have taken place after the city council’s term expired in September 2020.

The top court has set forth a triple test criteria for states to comply with in order to justify political reservation for OBCs in local bodies. The triple test includes setting up a dedicated commission to determine backwardness. The second condition is to specify the proportion of reservation required as per recommendations of the commission. The third test is that the reservation should not exceed 50% of the seats reserved for SCs, STs and OBCs together.

RDPR Minister KS Eshwarappa has already said that ZP/TP elections are likely to be delayed further in the wake of the apex court order. Likewise, there is no clarity now on the BBMP elections, which was expected to be held sometime in April.

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