Jaipur: In a lottery drawn for 362 sarpanch positions in Dausa district Thursday, only 23 posts were reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), amounting to less than 7%, despite a 21% quota mandated by state govt.Gujjar representative Himmat Singh Gurjar has accused BJP govt of intentionally reducing OBC representation, claiming it undermines social justice and is indicative of a systematic curtailment of their rights. An official of the district administration said the seats have been reserved as per the recommendations of the OBC commission report.He alleged that BJP govt had “once again used scissors” on OBC reservation and said the reduction was against the spirit of social justice. He termed this a curtailment of OBC representation and demanded that the reservation process be examined.The lottery was conducted across 14 panchayat samitis of Dausa district as part of the reservation process for the upcoming Panchayati Raj elections. Gurjar questioned the basis for determining the reservation, saying that 21% of the 362 sarpanch posts would translate into around 76 seats. He alleged that the lottery had resulted in OBC representation being restricted to only 23 posts.
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“Reducing the constitutional arrangement of OBC reservation is against the spirit of social justice and a direct attack on the interests and rights of OBC castes,” Gurjar said.He also criticised state govt over OBC Representation Commission, alleging that OBC communities had been “misled” for the past two years and that the commission’s report had not been made public.Gurjar further alleged that while govt had fixed OBC reservation at 21%, the outcome of the Dausa lottery showed a substantially lower share for the community in sarpanch posts.
