MUMBAI: A day after the Supreme Court rejected an interim report submitted by the Maharashtra State Commission for Backward Classes recommending restoration of 27% OBC quota in local body polls, the state government said it would enact a law to change the pre-poll process involved in conducting such elections. The move is aimed at skirting the apex court’s order putting reservations on hold on grounds that it is not backed by empirical data. Similar laws were enacted by Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh when their OBC quotas were scrapped.
Bills to be tabled on Monday during the ongoing session aim to give powers to the state to execute administrative arrangements, which include completing the delimitation process and conducting a lottery for reservations. Only then will the state election commission (SEC) be able to announce poll dates and conduct elections.
