New Delhi, December 28
A day after the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court quashed UP Government’s draft notification on urban local body elections, directing that these be held without OBC reservation, the Uttar Pradesh Government on Wednesday appointed a five-member commission to prescribe OBC quota for the polls.
The panel consists of Justice (retd) Ram Avtar Singh as chairman and retired IAS officers Chaub Singh Verma and Mahendra Kumar, and ex-legal advisers to the UP Government Santosh Kumar Viskarma and Brajesh Kumar Soni. Governor Anandiben Patel approved the appointments following which the UP Urban Development Department issued a notification. The commission will have a six-month tenure from the day members take charge.
The HC order yesterday came on petitions challenging the OBC reservation draft and argued that the notification did not meet the ‘triple test’ formula prescribed by the Supreme Court in the matter.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had yesterday said urban local body polls would not be held without OBC reservation. “We will constitute a commission to prescribe OBC quota based on the triple test,” he had declared.
Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya tweeted that polls would only be held after reservation.