MP: Congress-BJP trade charges on 27 pc OBC quota (Lead)

Bhopal, July 5 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday reiterated his government’s commitment to implementing 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), accusing the Congress of creating legal and political confusion that stalled the process for years.

In a strongly worded post on his official X handle, Yadav said: “Our government is committed to providing 27 per cent reservation to OBCs. The Congress created confusion by talking of reservation without any survey or preparation, which led to the matter being stuck in court.”

The statement comes amid renewed political sparring over the long-pending OBC quota issue. Yadav announced that a new Bill would soon be introduced in the state Assembly to formalise the reservation for OBC, based on updated data and administrative groundwork.

“Our officers are working to assess everything. All pending cases of joining (government jobs) will be addressed,” he added.

The 27 per cent OBC reservation in Madhya Pradesh has been a contentious issue since 2019, when the then Congress-led Kamal Nath government passed an ordinance to raise the quota from 14 per cent to 27 per cent.

The move was challenged in court, and the matter has since remained entangled in legal proceedings. The Supreme Court is currently hearing over 70 petitions related to the quota, with no immediate resolution in sight.

The Chief Minister also criticised the Congress for attempting to take credit for caste census initiatives, pointing out that it was former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who discontinued caste enumeration in 1953.

“They ruled for seventy years and did nothing. Now they want to take credit for the caste census,” he said.

Highlighting his government’s broader social agenda, Yadav noted that the BJP had already ensured 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) in the general category.

“The public knows the reality, and no one believes the Congress agenda,” he concluded.

In a sharp counterattack, the Congress state president Jitu Patwari declared that his party is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to secure 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), asserting, “We are ready to shed every drop of blood if necessary.”

He accused the BJP of resisting the socio-political upliftment of OBC communities, saying, “Those who oppose the rightful place of OBC families in the mainstream are none other than BJP leaders.”

--IANS

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