Congress says the BJP is delaying implementing 27% OBC reservation in Madhya Pradesh
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being against the Backward Classes, the Congress on Saturday (June 28 2025), alleged that the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has been wilfully delaying passing on the benefits of 27% reservation in State government jobs and institutions despite a law enacted by the State Assembly.
The party demanded immediate implementation of 27% reservation for the OBCs in Madhya Pradesh as it has been categorically cleared by the Supreme Court of India as well.
Addressing a press conference at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, senior party leaders, including former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, AICC in-charge for Madhya Pradesh Harish Chaudhary, MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari, and the head of the Congress's OBC department Anil JaiHind, said the delay in implementing the reservation is revealing the State government's anti-reservation and anti-Backward Class mindset.
Mr. Chaudhary said in 1994, the Congress government had provided 14% reservation to the OBCs and subsequently, in 2003, proposed the quota to be raised to 27%. However, since then, the BJP has been in power in the State and it never took any decision to implement the decision. When the Kamal Nath government was formed in December 2018, it brought an Ordinance to provide 27% reservation for OBCs in 2019.
'The BJP challenged it in court, which then directed that a law be enacted on the matter. We subsequently got the Bill passed in the Assembly. But the BJP formed the government again, and it did not implement the reservation,' Mr. Chaudhary said, adding that the pleas against the 27% quota were by the High Court and the Supreme Court as well.
Chhattisgarh issue
Mr. Baghel said that the Congress government in Chhattisgarh had unanimously passed a law in December 2022 for providing 27% reservation to the OBCs, but the Bill is still to get the nod of the Governor.
'This is because the BJP does not want to provide 27% reservation to the OBCs,' the former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister said. 'We will not only fight the issue legally, but will raise it publicly to build pressure on the BJP government to implement it,' he added.
Mr. Patwari said that it was strange that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he belonged to the OBCs but was not providing the community its rightful due. 'The OBC Chief Ministers of MP belonging to the BJP, including Uma Bharti, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Mohan Yadav, have all betrayed their own community,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Revision of Bihar electoral rolls: Congress says will oppose exercise legally, politically
NEW DELHI: As the EC began its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral rolls, the Congress on Sunday said it will oppose the move legally, politically, and on all fronts. The move invited scathing criticism from the Opposition parties as the EC on Saturday said around 2.93 crore of 7.89 crore voters, or about 37% of the electorate, will have to submit proof of their eligibility. Speaking with this newspaper, Congress leader Praveen Chakravartyquestioned the methodology adopted by the EC to ascertain that 37% of the Bihar electorate will have to re-register. 'How did they get the figure of 37%? This means they have the electoral roll of 2003 in a machine-readable format. Otherwise, it's impossible to analyse and come up with the figure. The Congress has been demanding the Maharashtra electoral rolls for a long time. If they have the 2003 rolls, why are they not showing us the 2024 Maharashtra voter rolls?' said Chakravarty, a member of EAGLE, an eight-member Congress panel tasked with looking into polls. He also pointed out that the EC had mooted a proposal on March 8 for electoral roll cleaning using Aadhaar, which, while not perfect, is a more viable alternative solution than an intensive voter revision in Bihar. 'Why did the EC abandon that to suddenly announce an SIR three months after the Aadhaar proposal?' he asked. The EC's move on June 24, requiring all existing voters who were not on the 2003 rolls to provide proof of their and their parents' citizenship, has also sparked concerns of disenfranchisement and exclusion of the poor and marginalised from voter rolls. 'If I was a voter in 2024 or 2019, that doesn't mean I am a voter now. I have to re-register. Now, they are saying I have to prove my veracity as a voter and prove date and place of birth. Why am I guilty until proven innocent?' he said. Chakravarty also said the EC has come up with arduous rules for providing birth certificates of voters and their parents, depending on the year of birth. Besides Union and state government officials will now dictate who has correct documents and who doesn't, thus dictating who gets to vote in the upcoming Bihar assembly polls.
New Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
DMK govt ‘running on commission, collection and corruption', says EPS
KALLAKURICHI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday alleged that the DMK government is 'running on commission, collection, and corruption'. Speaking at a welfare assistance distribution event in Ulundurpet, Palaniswami said, 'Corruption has worsened under the DMK regime. Every department is affected. No land registration happens without bribes. Even at Tasmac, a bribe of Rs 10 is collected per bottle. Law and order has also deteriorated. Movement of banned substances has increased.' Palaniswami said no one can take over the AIADMK. 'MK Stalin is unable to tolerate our alliance with the BJP. He says the AIADMK is finished, but he is daydreaming. Look at the gathering here, everyone should work for the victory of AIADMK and alliance candidates. Youth and women should work to ensure our victory in all five Assembly constituencies of Kallakurichi district.' Palaniswami said even after MGR's death, DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi could not destroy the AIADMK. After Jayalalithaa's demise, Stalin tried to topple the AIADMK but failed. 'In 2026 election, the AIADMK will win and form the government with a clear majority,' Palaniswami asserted. Responding to Stalin's repeated remarks that AIADMK lost 10 elections under his leadership, Palaniswami said, 'How many times did the DMK lose from 2011 to 2021? In 2011, the DMK couldn't even sit in the opposition benches. The DMK came to power with false promises. The DMK has failed to fulfil its poll promises of getting NEET exemption, increasing working days under 100-day job scheme, education loan waiver and restoration of old pension scheme.'
Hindustan Times
30 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
AAP hand in glove with BJP-led Central government, says Punjab Congress chief Warring
By Harpreet Kaur , Hoshiarpur Jun 30, 2025 08:42 AM IST Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Sunday alleged that the AAP government in Punjab is hand in glove with the Centre and that's why chief minister Bhagwant Mann acted against the farmers. Hoshirpur, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring addressing a rally in Hoshiarpur on Sunday. (Harpreet Kaur/HT) Addressing a 'Samvidhan Bachao' rally, Warring said that agriculture was Punjab's lifeline and the BJP-led government was bent on destroying it by enforcing farm laws and denying minimum support price (MSP) to crops. The rally was organised by former minister Sunder Sham Arora. 'The Centre thinks that if it will touch their raw nerve, the whole Punjab will feel the pain. Then it will be easy for it to enforce its ideology', Warring alleged, stating that the BJP-led Union government was weakening the state as it refused to accept RSS ideology. Warring said that the RSS and the BJP never accepted the Constitution and after coming to power, were strategising to weaken it. 'The Congress, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi would never allow it. It was because of the Constitution that the Indians had become 'citizens' or else they would still be 'subjects' of their rulers. The Constitution brought equality and secularism and gave people the right to live respectfully. It is the responsibility of every citizen to save the Constitution,' he added. Later talking to the media, Warring said that there was no rift in the party. 'Like other families, the Congress family too has some differences but you cannot call them rift. These are temporary and when Punjab's interest will be at stake, all will come together,' he said.
