Maharashtra: BJP to hold 'chakka jam' protest at 1,000 sites on June 26 over OBC quota

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The Maharashtra unit of the BJP on Thursday announced that it would hold ''chakka jam'' protest on June 26 at 1,000 places across the state over the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government's alleged failure in protecting the political reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBC).

BJP's state unit chief Chandrakant Patil made the announcement here during the meeting of the party's state leaders, office-bearers and workers. "It is the inaction of the MVA government in Maharashtra that led to the Maratha reservation act and political reservation for OBCs in local governing bodies getting struck down.

The BJP will hold ''chakka jam'' protest at 1,000 spots in the state. Over one lakh party workers along with several senior BJP leaders will court arrest as part of the protest," he said. The ''chakka jam'' protest involves blocking the main roads in cities and other places, and bringing the vehicular movement to a standstill.

The Supreme Court had passed an order in March this year, in which it had said that the quota in favour of OBCs in local bodies shouldn't result in breaching the overall 50 per cent ceiling on the reservation. It had also directed the Maharashtra government to set up a commission to gather empirical data for fixing the reservation percentage. The top court had observed that the reservation, if fixed, shall not exceed the aggregate of 50 per cent of the total seats reserved for SCs, STs and OBCs.

The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has decided to hold elections to five Zilla Parishads and bypolls to the seats in 33 panchayat samitis that were rendered vacant and converted into general category following the Supreme Court's verdict of quashing OBC reservation in local bodes on July 19.

"The SEC's decision to announce elections in five ZPs and panchayat samitis is nothing but adding insult to the injury of the OBCs," Patil said. BJP's state general secretary Chandrashekhar Bawankule will meet the state election commissioner on Friday with a request to not hold the polls until the reservation issue is resolved, he said, adding that former state minister Pankaja Munde will file a petition in the Bombay High Court regarding the same. "We will not let these elections take place," the BJP leader added.

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