AHMEDABAD: Delegations from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress on Thursday submitted representations to a commission appointed by the Gujarat government to inquire into the nature and implications of backwardness in local bodies to decide on reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
While the BJP urged the panel, called the 'Dedicated Commission', to give the highest possible reservation to OBCs in local body polls, the opposition Congress urged it to take the quota level to 27 per cent.
Under the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 10 per cent seats are reserved for OBC communities in gram panchayat elections.
The BJP delegation included former minister Shankar Chaudhary, present minister Jagdish Panchal, OBC leader Alpesh Thakor and state party spokesperson Bharat Dangar.
"The BJP always believes in the philosophy of uplifting the last man in the last line. Thus, we have urged the Commission to provide maximum possible quota that can be given to OBC candidates in local body polls. We are committed to giving justice to OBCs," Dangar said in Gandhinagar.
Talking to reporters, Gujarat Congress president Jagdish Thakor said his party is in favour of a caste survey to find out the exact population of OBCs in the state.
"Since reservation will be given on the basis of population and present social and economical condition of OBCs, our first demand was to have a census to find out OBC population.
As per our estimates, OBCs are 52 per cent of the (state's) population," Thakor told reporters.
"In that case, we urged the Commission to increase the quota from present 10 per cent to 27 per cent. Even the budget should be allocated as per this new proportion," Thakor added.
The BJP government in Gujarat had formed the commission in July to collect and analyse data about the nature and implications of backwardness in local bodies, an exercise necessary for fixing OBC quota in panchayat polls.
The commission, formed as per the directives of the Supreme Court, is headed by retired Gujarat High Court Judge K S Jhaveri.
Citing a recent SC judgment, the Gujarat State Election Commission (SEC) had, in July, written to district collectors asking them to convert the 10 per cent OBC seats into general category ones for upcoming elections in more than 3,200-gram panchayats.
The issue had snowballed into a political slugfest with the Congress accusing the ruling BJP of removing OBC quota.