AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Congress is using the OBC card to get back at the ruling BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. With the demand for a caste-based census in the state, the Congress organized a sit-in at Gandhinagar on Tuesday.
The Congress has invited senior OBC politicians from the ruling BJP to participate in the sit-in to raise awareness about a variety of issues impacting the Other Backward Classes, including the need for reservation in local bodies.
Amit Chavda, state Congress Legislature Party leader, asked a slew of OBC MLAs, MPs, and BJP ministers to attend the Swabhiman Dharna at Satyagrah Chhavni ground in Gandhinagar, via social media.
He added that the party invited political leaders from all communities, all religions and all parties to discuss the various issues impacting the OBCs. “The Swabhiman Dharna raised four demands, including the caste-based census. We have called for the implementation of a 27 per cent OBC reservation in local self-government institutions, a 27 per cent allocation of the state budget for the OBCs, and allotment of seats as per reservation in cooperatives,” said Chavda.
The Gujarat Congress has accused the BJP of trying to end the representation of OBCs in local bodies. According to Chavda, the protest has been organized by a non-political outfit, the OBC Anamat Bachao Samiti, which was formed last year to raise the issues concerning the community.
The main contention of the opposition party is the “delay” in making public a report submitted by a commission formed last year by the BJP government to ascertain the nature and implications of backwardness in local bodies to decide on the reservation for the OBCs.
The report was submitted by the commission in April this year. Since the report has not been made public, elections to several local bodies have been put on hold in the state, the Congress alleged. The OBCs comprise a majority of Gujarat’s population. However, there is no official data. Some estimates place them at nearly 40 per cent of the population.
In the 2022 assembly elections, 58 of the 182 BJP candidates were drawn from the OBCs. Last July, the state election commissioner (SEC) directed the Gujarat government to dissolve the existing 10 per cent reservation for OBCs and give it to general candidates. The order came as a shock in political quarters. The SEC directive was in line with a Supreme Court order, asking all states to conduct a survey and submit a report justifying the OBC quota in each seat.
After the SEC order, Gujarat Congress leaders alleged negligence by the state government saying the BJP wanted to do away with reservation for backward communities and, as a test case, begin with the local bodies. The Bhupendra Patel government then hastily formed a commission, headed by Justice KS Jhaveri (retired). The commission was asked to submit its report within 90 days, which would have been before the assembly elections last December.