Bhopal, July 5 (IANS) Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday said that his government will soon introduce a new Bill on OBC reservation in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

The Chief Minister reiterated that his government is committed to providing 27 per cent reservation to the OBC candidates in government services, and he has directed officials to prepare a Bill, which will be brought to the House for discussion.

Responding to the Congress’ claim of delay in the implementation of 27 per cent reservation to the OBC community, the Chief Minister said that Congress had approved the Bill without any proper “survey” and “preparation”.

“Congress misled the people on the OBC reservation issue. The Bill approved by the then Congress government was lacking proper preparation and a survey. The BJP government is committed to providing 27 per cent reservation to OBC people,” CM Yadav said during a press conference.

Earlier in the day, state Congress chief Jitu Patwari, along with the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly, Umang Singhar, blamed the BJP government for delaying the implementation of 27 per cent reservation to OBC.

The Chief Minister’s statement came a day after the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government over the continued delay in appointments to 13 per cent of government posts kept on hold under the 27 per cent OBC reservation policy.

The court has sought an explanation from the state for not filling these posts despite there being no legal stay on the enhanced OBC quota.

The Chief Secretary has been directed to submit an affidavit in the matter.

The notice was issued during a hearing on a petition filed by candidates affected by the hold on appointments.

The petitioners, under the banner of OBC Mahasabha, demanded that the government fill 13 per cent of posts, which have remained vacant for several years despite the policy for 27 per cent OBC reservation being introduced in 2019 by the then Baghel government.

The petitioners stated that although there is no stay from the Supreme Court on the implementation of 27 per cent reservation for OBCs, the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) has kept 13 per cent of posts on hold in various recruitment drives held in recent years.

–IANS

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