Jaipur, July 10 (IANS) Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) President, Govind Singh Dotasra on Friday demanded that the state government conduct a credible survey of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community to ensure accurate reservation data and immediately announce elections to Panchayati Raj institutions and Urban Local Bodies.

Govind Singh Dotasra stated that any compromise with the interests of the OBC community would not be tolerated.

Addressing a press conference at the State Congress Headquarters in Jaipur, Dotasra said the Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma-led government should complete the OBC reservation exercise on the basis of verified and authentic data before notifying elections to Urban Local Bodies.

He accused the BJP-led Rajasthan government of delaying the electoral process by failing to complete the OBC survey in a time-bound manner.

The Congress leader claimed that the OBC Commission was constituted nearly 10 months after the present government led by Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma assumed office, despite the expiry of the terms of Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis and several Urban Local Bodies.

He claimed the Commission was required to submit its report on OBC reservation within three months, but more than a year had passed without completion of the exercise.

Dotasra further stated that the delimitation process, which should have been completed within four months, took around 13 months, delaying elections further.

Referring to the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, he said Articles 243E and 243U mandate that elections to Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies be conducted immediately after the completion of their five-year tenure.

He also claimed that the government failed to provide the OBC Commission with adequate infrastructure, including office space, computers and staff, affecting its functioning.

Questioning the newly launched Rajdhara application for the OBC survey, Dotasra claimed that the app’s “Government” login option had been disabled, leaving only the “Citizen” option active.

According to him, allowing citizens to self-register data without verification by authorised government personnel could compromise the authenticity of the survey.

He urged the Rajasthan government to complete the OBC survey through a transparent and accountable process, finalise reservation on the basis of verified data and announce elections to Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies without any further delay.

The Rajasthan government has not responded to the allegations as yet.

–IANS

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