Maha guv returns OBC ordinance, raises queries

Maha guv returns OBC ordinance, raises queries

Priyanka Kakodkar and Clara Lewis TNN

Mumbai:23.09.2021

In a new twist in the feud between Maharashtra governor B S Koshyari and the MVA government, the gover nor retur ned the state’s ordinance to provide for the OBC quota in rural local bodies after raising queries. “The governor asked for the Supreme Court to be informed before sending the ordinance to him,” said rural development minister Hasan Mushrif.

The state cabinet on Wednesday decided to re-submit an amended ordinance to governor Koshyari. It also decided to issue another ordinance on the same lines for urban local bodies to provide for OBC quota, apart from reservations for SCs and STs within the 50% quota limit for local bodies. The next hearing of the OBC reservation case in Supreme Court is on Thursday. The state is likely to mention the two ordinances in court.

MVA ministers hit out at at Koshyari for not signing the ordinance. “Ever since this governor came, he has been under influence of the BJP. He should act like the head of the state. If the ordinance had gone through, it would have helped in the upcoming zilla parishad bypolls,” said Mushrif, who belongs to the NCP. “If he does not sign the amended ordinance, it will send the message that BJP is not allowing OBC reservations,” Mushrif said.

OBC affairs minister Vijay Wadettiwar said Koshyari’s decision to return the ordinance was akin to sprinkling salt in the wound of OBCs. “The governor’s advisors seem to want to keep the OBC reservation issue hanging and blame the government,” said Wadettiwar, who belongs to the Congress. The Sena also attacked the governor. “How long does it take for the governor to get legal advice? The BJP should tell us why he has still not approved the 12 nominees the cabinet had approved for the legislative council. According to the law, the governor has to act on recommendations of the cabinet,” said Sena MP Sanjay Raut.

The BJP said the governor was merely acting on the view taken by the state’s law and judiciary department on the OBC ordinance. “The law and judiciary department had opined that SC permission should be taken before issuing the ordinance, so that it would not be rejected in court. The state should have got an opinion from the state advocate general to overrule this view. Without doing this, they sent the ordinance to the governor,” said BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis.

Full report on www.toi.in