NEW DELHI: (TIP): Compelled by electoral politics, the BJP-led NDA government has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court pleading for its nod to extend reservation to Jats in education and jobs under the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) category which enjoyed a 27% quota.

The review petition comes in the wake of a Jat delegation’s meeting with PM Narendra Modi following the SC ruling The government’s move has come within a fortnight of the SC verdict on March 17 striking down the Centre’s March 2014 notification that had put Jats on the OBC list meant for 9 states —Haryana, HP, Uttarakhand, UP, Delhi, Bihar, Gujarat, MP and Rajasthan (Bharatpur and Dholpur districts).

Only two days ago, the SC had reiterated its ruling by refusing to entertain a petition filed by Jat doctors pleading for exempting the admissions for the 2015-16 academic session from the purview of the judgment. The doctors, who had applied for post graduation medical courses under the OBC quota, had argued that since the admission process had begun much before the SC verdict, the quota for Jats should be retained at least for one more year. In the review petition, the government said the decision to include Jats in the OBC list was in consonance with the SC verdict in the OBC quota issue in the backdrop of the Mandal Commission report.

All nine states had already included Jats in their OBC lists and had pleaded with the Centre to put them on the Central list as well.

While the UPA government had extended the OBC quota to Jats on the eve of the 2014 LS elections, the Modi government supported this decision in the SC ahead of the Haryana Assembly polls last year.