The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat on Friday passed a bill in the Assembly that earmarks 27 per cent seats in local bodies like panchayats, municipalities and civic corporations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
The Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023 was passed through a majority voice vote after all the 17 Congress MLAs, including Congress Legislative Party leader Amit Chavda and senior MLA Arjun Modhwadia, staged a walkout in protest demanding higher ratio of reservation and tabling of a report of the commission headed by former Supreme Court Justice KS Zaveri.
On August 29, the BJP government in Gujarat had announced 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in local bodies like panchayats, municipalities and civic corporations on the basis of a report submitted by the Zaveri commission.