OBC reservation in UP: The matter of providing reservations to the Other Backward Class (OBC) in urban local body polls seems to be becoming a hot topic in Utter Pradesh politics. Two days after the Allahabad High Court directed the state administration to hold the elections for urban local bodies without making any accommodations for the OBC reservation, the UP government has moved to the Supreme Court to challenge the order.
According to reports, the state government has filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the top court, opposing the Allahabad High Court's order.
In this regard, Opposition leader and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, on Thursday, also asked the state government to convene a special session of the assembly to discuss the issue.
"If the government's conscience is clear, it should convene a special session of the assembly so that they can put forth their points and give us a chance to put our views on OBC reservation in urban local body polls," the SP chief Yadav said terming the ruling BJP "anti-OBC" and "anti-Dalit."
His statement came a day after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government appointed a five-member panel for providing reservations to OBC in urban local body elections. The panel was formed on Wednesday, despite the court's setback on the issue.
The SP has no faith in the ruling BJP: Akhilesh Yadav
Stating that his party has no faith in the ruling dispensation, Yadav further said that the OBC wing of his party was making preparations to fight the battle in the Supreme Court, if required.
"It is not just discrimination on the issue of reservation, but the government is also trying to run away from the election as they know that if they go before the people they will be defeated," he said, citing the recent bypoll results. The results of the elections held recently have shown that backwards, Dalit, minority people together voted against the wrong policies of the BJP," he added.
The SP chief claimed that the government has brought things to a breaking point, forcing Dalits and backwards to strive together for a revolution for reservation.
BJP government is against backwards: Yadav
Alleging that the BJP government is against backwards, he said the State Backward Classes Commission was constituted in 1994 but it was disbanded later.
"It (commission) could have extended some support to the backwards but the government has brought it to an end," Yadav said.
Accusing the BJP government of meting out step-motherly treatment to backwards and Dalits, he alleged that there is a conspiracy to snatch away their rights.
Warning that "today the reservation of backwards has been snatched, tomorrow the quota of the Dalits will also be snatched", Yadav said the backwards have not only been betrayed but there is also a conspiracy to snatch away their rights, provisions for which were made by the architect of the Constitution, BR Ambedkar.
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"This is a conspiracy to make the coming generations of OBCs servants. It is also aimed at evicting these castes from power and BJP has been making preparations for it all through," Yadav said. He further alleged that the BJP wants the votes of the backwards but does not want to make them partner in power.
"Through publicity and allurements, they want to take their votes but when it is time to make them partners in power they do not do so. The governments both in the state and at the Centre have been formed because of votes of the backwards, but there is no place for them in governments," Yadav remarked.
Taking a jibe at the BJP's backward class leaders without taking any name, the SP chief said it seems that after joining BJP and coming to power, the souls of these leaders die.
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CM Yogi Adityanath firm on providing reservation to OBC
Following the High Court's verdict, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had asserted that elections to urban local bodies would not be held without reservation for OBCs.
The state government will set up a commission on urban body elections and provide reservations to the OBCs on the basis of the triple test, he had said.
While the court order invited flak from the state government, the opposition, including the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, attacked the Adityanath-led regime.
(With inputs from PTI)
