On December 15, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by the Maharashtra Government seeking a direction to the Centre to share raw data collected in the Socio-Economic Caste Census of 2011. The apex court told the State to notify 27% of its Other Backward Classes (OBC) seats to open category in its local government body elections. The Maha Vikas Aghadi Government has received a lot of flak for being “negligent” and “non serious” about it. Nationalist Congress Party’s Maharashtra chief Jayant Patil, however, told The Hindu that there is lack of political will from the Centre to part with the data and its stand is very contradictory.
What according to you were the circumstances that led to the delay in submitting the data?
I think it is important to understand the chronology of events here; the previous government led by Devendra Fadnavis had challenged the OBC reservation in the local body in court in 2017. Since then, the Government of Maharashtra is seeking the empirical data which is with the Centre.
Between 2011 and 2013 this survey was done and the data was submitted to the Government of India. The survey was done in every State; however, the Centre’s stand has been confusing, in 2016, the Center had said in the Parliament that the empirical data on OBC was correct, but a few days ago, the Centre told the SC that the data pertaining to OBC cannot be determined by the survey.
There are letters written in 2019, by Devendra Fadnavis and Pankaja Munde asking the Centre to share the data but it could not be procured. The lack of political will is at the Centre and not the State. Firstly, they denied the letters, then they said the data has errors and now they are saying they do not have any data.
So you’re saying that there is a contradiction in the Centres’s stand?
Absolutely, I think the Centre does not want to disclose the data because then there will be a demand to make budgetary allocations proportionate to the population that will lead to OBC’s empowerment. That is why the Centre is not providing the data, which is being asked by a lot of States. There is a limbo which is creating ambiguity.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was against social economic and caste census in 2011. When the parent organisation is against caste census, it is unlikely that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government will release the data. The RSS believes in an arakhsan mukt bharat (reservation free India), so how will the Government provide the data that will strengthen the reservation. Besides, the motive of 2011 census data was to make programmes and policies for OBC for their upliftment in education and jobs among others. By 2024, if they (BJP) get elected, they will cancel all the reservations.
The MVA government has told the SC that it will provide empirical data in three months, how do you plan to do that?
We have already formed a nine-member commission which will take up the difficult task in their hands and complete it in the next three months. We have suggested to the State Election Commission (SEC) that any election which will omit OBC’s reservation should not be taken immediately. It is very disheartening to see wastage of time, resources and money of the public exchequer into a task which was already done 10 years ago but just because of ill-intentions of the Centre, this data is not given to us.
Can you explain the process of collecting empirical data?
The entire State has a machinery of teachers, government servants’ and anganwadi sevikas who will collect data in their villages. But the compilation of data is very cumbersome. We are also trying to figure out if data can be collected online.
Are there any talks to defer the local body polls?
The decision on when to conduct elections is with the SEC. From our side, we are constantly pursuing and requesting the SEC to postpone elections for three months so that proper provisions can be made for OBC representations in the local bodies. We want the elections to happen with the OBC reservation.
On Sharad Pawar’s birthday, you had said, ‘There is an ideological fight in India and has to be won ideologically’. Which fight are you referring to?
The nature of the fight is very unique, now it is not right or left. This is an ideological fight - parties who want to uphold the Constitution and mechanisms laid by our Constitution versus authoritarians. Our deep-rooted idea of democracy is given by Mahatma Gandhi, Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Phule, Jawaharlal Nehru who believed in the Constitution and we will protect it.
Today, there is a breakdown of Central institutions. Since this Government has come to power, the country has never seen so much damage to Central institutions laid by our Constitution, whether it’s the Central Bureau of Investigation or the Enforcement Directorate, bulldozing of members in the legislative and parliamentary houses, the unconstitutional passing of acts and laws, like the farm reform laws. There was no debate and discussion before it was passed, after more than 700 lives were lost, they repealed the farm laws only after electoral consideration. And even then, there was no discussion, they don’t like discussions. Atleast, the Prime Minister should have mentioned why the farm laws are removed. They have to give some explanation to the nation.
How do you foresee Maharashtra’s future as two big regional parties are in power now?
Maharashtra has always played an important role in shaping national politics. As far as NCP is concerned, apart from Maharashtra, NCP is also there in Kerala, Manipur and Assam. NCP’s grassroots are very strong in Maharashtra, it will always win at least 40 seats. Whichever wave came in the State or Country, we had 54 seats. Before the Modi wave, we had reached 72 seats. If you see in the past few years, we are an ever-evolving political party. From launching LGBTQI cell to focusing on new age campaigns. We are one of the most forward-thinking parties.
