The Centre has moved the Supreme Court seeking recall of its December 17 order directing the Madhya Pradesh State Election Commission (SEC) to stay the poll process on seats reserved for Other Backward Classes in the local body there and re-notify those seats for the general category.
The government has argued that upliftment of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the OBCs has been the utmost priority of the government and inadequate representation of OBCs in local self-government defeats the “very object, intent and purpose of the very idea” of the de-centralisation of power and taking governance to the grass-root level.
It has also sought the deferment of the local body polls by four months with a mandate to the State government to come out with the report of the commission and directing the SEC to hold the elections accordingly. Meanwhile, the Centre has asked the Supreme Court to suspend the election process as an interim measure.
The Centre has also sought impleadment in the matter in which the apex court had passed the order on December 17.
On December 17, the apex court had referred to the Constitution Bench verdict of 2010 which had mentioned the 'triple test' condition, including setting up a dedicated commission to conduct a contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness of the targetted communites before reservation of seats for them in the local bodies.
