MARGAO, OCT 8
Can a candidate be debarred from contesting the ensuing Municipal polls on the OBC quota on grounds that he belongs to the creamy layer.
This question has triggered a debate in the corridors of the district collectorate, South as the process of filing of nomination papers is underway before Returning Officer Johnson Fernandes.
The question has come to the fore as moves are afoot in Ward No 8 of the Margao Municipal Council to field noted Konkani activist Poornanand Chari as a consensus candidate.
Sources in the know said that Chari had applied for the caste certificate before Deputy Collector Johnson Fernandes, who has issued the certificate that he belongs to the OBC creamy layer.
Inquires from the office of the Deputy Collector revealed that anyone from the OBC community whose annual family income exceeds Rs 4.5 lakh falls in the creamy layer category.
This has set off the debate whether a candidate from the OBC can be denied the right to contest the polls on the quota on the pretext that he falls under the creamy layer.
One section was of the view that the creamy layer was applicable only in case of reservations for jobs and in educational institutions and is not applicable for contesting elections.
Sources in the know said that legal opinion is being sought from both sides on the ticklish question if at all an objection is raised at the time of scrutiny of nomination papers.
