PORVORIM: The opposition, as well as the ruling benches on Tuesday, cornered the State government over Other Backward Class (OBC) reservations for the forthcoming panchayat elections alleging that the wards are not reserved as per the population as the OBC Commission failed to provide the adequate data to the State Election Commission (SEC).
The government was also questioned over the failure to provide 27 per cent reservation to OBC, for whom only 307 out of 1528 wards are reserved across 186 panchayats.
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Admitting that OBC has got only 20 per cent reservation, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant justified the decision stating that the OBC commission had referred to 2013 data, available with them and also data available with the Social Welfare department and Directorate of Panchayat.
Sawant told House that the Supreme Court’s triple test guidelines have been followed and that the SEC has independently verified and analysed data after which the OBC reservations were notified.
He also said that several petitions have been filed in the High Court challenging the OBC reservations and pleading that the same should be set aside. “Reservation is an SEC subject. Following allegations of manipulations in the reservation process during last elections, the government handed over entire responsibility to SEC and hence, now the government has no role to play,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that the government had been fighting for OBC reservation so that no injustice is meted out to any community. “Our intentions were very clear….we sought postponement of polls on account of triple test and monsoons…we wanted to ensure that every eligible voter can exercise their right to vote….in heavy monsoon there is a possibility of lower voter turnout,” he added.
GFP MLA Vijai Sardesai brought to the notice of the House the failure of the government to give 27 per cent reservation to OBC as per mandate. He said that the entire election process was delayed on account of a triple-test, where the government failed to give justice.
Congress MLA Michael Lobo charged that the OBC Commission has not undertaken any survey to collect the data and in fact was dependent on panchayat department clerks and lower division staff, who were made to phone call panchayats to get data.
AAP MLA Venzy Viegas and BJP MLA Ganesh Gaonkar alleged that the reservations are not as per the population and that the data submitted by the OBC commission is wrong hence there is chaos and the matter is challenged in Court. They said that reservation is done in those wards where there is no OBC reservation.
