Maharashtra: BJP will take to streets if polls held without OBC reservation, says Fadnavis

While describing the development as unfortunate and detrimental to the political growth of the OBCs, Fadnavis said, “Holding local bodies elections without OBC reservation, as directed by the Supreme Court, is an outcome of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s lack of political will.”

“The BJP will come out on the streets to fight for the rights of the OBCs. It will not allow the next elections to be held without OBC reservation, ” he added.

On March 4, the SC had quashed 27 per cent OBC quota in local bodies for want of empirical data on the backwardness of the community.

On the MVA government blaming the Centre for not providing it empirical data on the OBCs, Fadnavis said: “Today, the SC order has made it clear that the data, which is in the Centre’s possession, relates to socio-economic backwardness. But to establish OBC reservation, data on political backwardness is required.”

“The empirical data that the court wants has to be compiled by the Maharashtra government,” he added.

“We have been repeatedly telling the state government that empirical data will have to be furnished by the state. We had also suggested the way to carry out the process. The entire process could have been completed within four months had the government taken up the exercise seriously.”

“Today, the MVA government informed the court it would collect empirical data within three months. The question is why did it not do in the last two years? Had the government completed the process, there would be no stay on OBC reservation,” said Fadnavis.

“The BJP is not interested in doing politics over OBC reservation. Even now we are willing to help the government, he added.

In March, the SC had said that reservation in favour of OBCs in local bodies in Maharashtra cannot exceed an aggregate of 50 per cent of the total seats reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs taken together.