Uncertainty prevailed over implementation of 42% reservation provided to BCs in the local body elections. Many wonder that what if the current reservations are struck down by the High Court or the Supreme Court? Will the Congress government move forward as per the schedule? And if elections are held, will BCs get at least 23 percent of the seats?
Questions are being raised that will the Dedicated Commission report will have to be revised and brought again? Everyone is speculating on what the court verdicts are going to be and what decision the government will take. Reservations are being provided to SCs and STs in the local body elections as per the constitution.
However, state governments have been providing reservations to BCs as they please. It has become common practice to provide reservations to BCs through unscientific methods such as lottery method and random selection, and legal disputes over them have become commonplace.
It is against this backdrop that the Supreme Court has given several clear directions on the reservations being implemented for OBCs in the cases of KE Krishnamurthy of Karnataka and Vikas Rao Gawali of Maharashtra.
The court has issued several guidelines in the name of Triple T. First.. A full-fledged constitutional, dedicated commission should be set up to study the implementation and results of OBC reservations in every local body. Second.. Reservations should be stabilized in accordance with the population ratio. Third, the total SC, ST and OBC reservations should not exceed 50 percent.
The Supreme Court has ruled that OBC reservations should not be implemented in local body elections in any state that does not follow these Triple T guidelines. The Supreme Court has canceled local body elections held in several states without following these rules. However, it was felt that the Congress government in Telangana has finalized local reservations contrary to the Supreme Court guidelines.
It has provided 42% reservation for BCs, 15% for SCs, and 10% for STs.. a total of 67% reservation. This exceeds the 50% ceiling imposed by the Supreme Court on reservations. Moreover, the government has issued a GO for their implementation while the bills related to reservations are pending with the Governor.
In any case, legal experts are clearly stating that these reservations will not stand up in court. On the other hand, many have already approached the High Court and the Supreme Court challenging the 42% reservation provided to BCs.
