Rama Krishna Sangem
Telangana High Court’s stay on the just commenced process of elections to the local bodies with 42 per cent reservations to BCs came as a shocker to the two year old Revanth Reddy led Congress government. HC division bench led by Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh on October 9, Thursday evening delivered an order stalling the nominations filing that commenced a few hours earlier in the day. As per the schedule announced by the State Election commission, the polls would have been completed by November 11.
I say this is a shocker to the Revanth Reddy government because, everyone thought a day before, October 8, Wednesday, when the HC hasn’t stayed the issuing of notification on the next day, the poll process would be allowed to be completed till November 11. If that happened, things would have been different. Once thousands of elected representatives of local bodies under the 42 per cent BC quota were declared by the poll body, the quota would have been irreversible.
Most of the Congress leaders including ministers who turned up in the HC to see the proceedings yesterday felt that HC indirectly provided them with a big relief – by not stopping the poll process, thus allowing it to continue till November 11. But, much to their shock, the HC stayed the whole process, and ordered the government to file a counter within four weeks and the petitioners two weeks. That means, a lot of courtroom drama is awaited on this issue.
Options to the State government
Telangana government wanted to wade through the choppy waters of enhancing BC reservations beyond 50 per cent – in this case to 63 per cent, through a GO. Of course, the government explored other options – passing a Bill in the assembly and bringing an ordinance – to increase the quota for BCs, from the existing 28 per cent to 42 per cent. But, in both cases, there is no assent from the Governor. If the Bill is pending with the President of India, ordinance is stuck with Raj Bhavan, for the last few weeks.
Those who oppose the quota above 50 per cent argue that it is patently unconstitutional. They mention the Supreme Court rulings on this – including one in the case of Indira Sawhney Vs Union of India case, 1992. In this case, the SC put a bar of 50 per cent limit to all forms of reservations in jobs and educational opportunities. To overcome this, then Jayalalithaa government in Tamil Nadu ensured its 69 per cent quota Act in the 9th schedule of Constitution – avoiding judicial scrutiny.
Now Revanth government has two options – fight out the case first in the HC and go to SC, and build political momentum to secure Governor assent to its Bill or ordinance. However, this is a political issue. Naturally, BJP ruling at the Centre will not allow mileage to the Congress government in Telangana on this BCs issue. Oppositon BRS too will not join hands with the Revanth government on this issue. As of now, the local bodies elections will hang in the air.