http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-23/surat/30550512_1_panchayat-polls-sc-st-hc-order
Row over SC, ST seats in 'eligibile' panchayats
TNN Dec 23, 2011, 10.29PM IST
GANDHINAGAR: Just five days ahead of nearly 1.69 crore voters - or
half the voting strength of Gujarat -scheduled to cast their votes for
nearly 10,300 village panchayats on December 29, controversy has
erupted around the demand to reserve seats for scheduled castes (SCs)
and scheduled tribes (STs) in all the state's "eligible" village
panchayats.
Armed with a recent high court (HC) order, the Congress on Friday
represented to Gujarat governor Dr Kamala to ensure SC-ST reservation
to all those villages which have less than five per cent of the SC or
ST population.
The BJP, apparently, is refusing to relent. State panchayat minister
Narottam Patel, who is a senior BJP leader, told TOI that the matter
is "under close examination of the state legal department, and a final
decision, based on HC order, will be taken only after a review."
When asked whether the "final decision" will be reached before the
panchayat polls, the senior minister just hung the phone, refusing to
speak anything more. State law minister Dilip Sanghani could not be
contacted. Meanwhile, the state government is said to thinking of
going to the Supreme Court against the HC order.
In its order, the high court earlier this month set aside polls to two
village panchayats - Tholiayali and Khodipapar - in Rajkot district,
as in both the villages no seat was reserved for either SC or ST
candidates. High court advocate Jayesh V Bhairaviya, who fought the
case on behalf of the villagers who went to the court, said, "The
order wanted the state government to rectify if a similar illegality
has been committed in other village panchayats in the matter of SC and
ST reservation."
"While the State Election Commission (SEC) rectified the mistake in
the two village panchayats, it refused to do it for other village
panchayats of Gujarat, which have less than five per cent of SC or ST
population," alleged state Congress general secretary Nishith Vyas,
who led the team to represent to the governor.
The Congress believes, there are anywhere between 2,500 and 4,500 such
village panchayats where less than five per cent of population belongs
to SC or ST sections. "If the population is very small, even one seat
should be reserved. Reservation need not be there if there is no SC-ST
population," he insisted.
Sources in the SEC said, following the HC order, it has provided for
the reservation category in the two villages. However, as for other
villages, it is the state government which should take a final
decision.
"We cannot do it on our own," an SEC spokesperson said, adding, "The
rule, made in 1994, provides for giving reservation to SC or ST
candidates only in case SC-ST population is more than five per cent.
The state government, which conducts the local polls, must amend the
rules for us to follow."
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