SC order allowing local body polls with OBC quota in MP gives hopes to MVA govt

The Supreme Courtrsquos order allowing local body polls with OBC quota in Madhya Pradesh has given hopes to the Maharashtra government The SC accepted the MP governmentrsquos report on empirical data and reversed its previous order for the state According to the MVA government there is enough time to collate the empirical data as the polls would likely be held only after monsoonThe SC on Wednesday accepted the MP governments report on empirical data and revised its old order asking the state to notify polls within one week In a similar case the court recently asked the Maharashtra government to complete the exercise and asked the state poll body to resume the election process pending decision on the quotaThe SCrsquos order on Wednesday prompted a verbal battle between the ruling parties and the Opposition in Maharashtra While the Congress asked how MP got the data so fast the BJP in the state blamed the government for failure to collate data on time The BJP said the governmentrsquos failure will deny the OBCs their statutory rightsSenior citizens volunteer at a poll booth File picBipin KokateHowever the Congress said the SC held a different point of view in a similar case It questioned the developments over the past four days leading to a verdict in favour of the MP government This decision is subject to review if challenged said the SCFor collating the required data the MVA has pinned its hopes on the time it would get when the state election commission SEC prepares for the polls that are likely to be held after monsoon The SC has allowed the Maharashtra SEC to take call on postponing elections based on the weather projectionsWe will get it too BhujbalCabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal said ldquoItrsquos a matter of happiness Maharashtra will also get the data report which will be submitted to the court And Irsquom sure of the restoration of the quotardquoNana Patole senior Congress leaderAccording to Bhujbal the dedicated commission appointed for data collection had ample timetwo to four monthsto go to polls which are likely to be delayed because of the rainy season Dismissing the Oppositionrsquos charges he said that the MVA government had taken all the right steps so far ldquoThe government even took the SECrsquos powers that ultimately gave it more timerdquoMinister Jitendra Awhad said there could never be different decisions for MP and Maharashtra ldquoAs the earlier directive of holding polls without the quota applied to all states in the country todayrsquos decision would also apply to all when the empirical data is submittedrdquo he saidBJP demands resignationOpposition leader Devendra Fadnavis slammed the MVA for ignoring the SCrsquos directives for conducting triple test including collection of empirical data through a dedicated commission ldquoThe MVA leaders were busy pointing fingers at the Centre We had also requested the government to form a commission but the body came into being a year later The MP government appointed a commission immediately after the SCrsquos directives The MVA government had killed the OBC quotardquo he said blaming Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for ignoring the burning issueldquoWhen we urged the MVA government to conduct a triple test we were ridiculed Todayrsquos court decision is an eye opener The minister responsible should resign because Maharashtra could have its OBC quota restored only by following the SCrsquos directives We will keep on fighting till the data is submitted to the court and the quota gets restoredrdquo he addedCongress raises questionState Congress president Nana Patole said the SCrsquos suggestions made to the MP and Maharashtra were similar ldquoIf so then which trick worked in the four days to have Madhya Pradesh allowed to hold elections with the OBC quotardquo he askedPatole said the Centre has been creating hurdles for Maharashtra since the past two years ldquoThe Centre did not give us empirical data The SC asked to conduct a triple test While this case is on Madhya Pradesh gets permission to apply the quota Which data did the MP government submit to the court Did MP get it from the Centrerdquo he asked expressing confidence that Maharashtra too will have its polls with the OBC quotaMay 4Day SC told SEC to notify local body polls within two weeks