When it threatens their political interests, the ruling parties and opposition come together. Maharashtra saw such an effort last Friday, notwithstanding some jarring voices from both sides. What if such things happened very often, especially for public welfare and to keep the social fabric intact? Last Friday, the government was magnanimous in accepting the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) oft-repeated suggestion that the backward class commission (BCC) be constituted, and asked to establish the political backwardness of the other backward classes (OBC) whose political quota in the local self-governments has been stayed by the Supreme Court. To restore the quota, the state was asked to complete some procedures.

Last Friday, the second all-party meeting held within a week, agreed to seek the BCC’s assistance, as was suggested by former chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis in the budget session. Fadnavis had spoken about it immediately after the verdict and hasn’t changed his position. He feels vindicated now. But six months have elapsed since the SC verdict came. However, it was good on part of the MVA government’s CM, Uddhav Thackeray, that he had taken the initiative to constitute the BCC a couple of months ago. Perhaps it was the beginning of keeping one end open, if the state’s demand that the Centre should share the OBCs’ empirical data for getting the quota restored, doesn’t get approved. The MVA has made a formal request to the Centre and also moved the SC to get the empirical data from the Modi government. The hearing on September 23 may make things clear on this front. Till then, some MVA leaders can keep on accusing the Centre of not yielding and putting the state government in a fix, as it has been put in, in many matters even before.