Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Congress president Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ on Wednesday welcomed Allahabad high court’s direction to hold panchayat elections within three months, accusing the BJP govt of deliberately delaying the polls and questioning the process used to collect data for OBC reservation.Mishra said the five-year tenure of elected panchayats had already ended, but elections were not conducted, allowing outgoing gram pradhans to continue as administrators. She allegedthe delay reflected a lack of commitment to democratic decentralisation and suggested the govt was avoiding rural voter anger that could translate into electoral losses.She also raised concerns over the adequacy and transparency of the OBC data collection exercise used to determine reservation in panchayat bodies. Referring to figures from Agra that were cited in court, Mishra said the district had over three lakh OBC residents on record, yet only 179 people reportedly approached the commission and statements of just 29 were recorded. She argued the numbers indicated the survey may not have been comprehensive enough to ensure fair representation.The Congress demanded compliance with the court’s timeline and called for reliable data collection to safeguard constitutional rights of backward classes and ensure social justice.
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