Centre can’t be mere spectator, should take lead to resolve quota issue: Pawar
Speaking at his hometown Baramati, the veteran leader said there is a need for amendments in law and the state and Centre’s policies
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said that the Centre cannot be a mere spectator in the ongoing protests but take lead to resolve matters pertaining to reservation demand by the Maratha community while also addressing the concerns of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Speaking at his hometown Baramati, the veteran leader said there is a need for amendments in law and the state and Centre’s policies. He was responding to a question on increasing Maratha-OBC conflict in Maharashtra over reservation issue.
“Without politicising the issue, the Centre should take the lead in addressing the demands of both the communities (Marathas and OBCs) and ensure that agitations do not cause social tension,” Pawar said.
The state in the recent past has seen protests by pro-quota activists and counter agitations by OBCs in the Marathwada region. OBCs have been seeking assurance from the government that their quota will not be disturbed. Two OBC activists, including former Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) member Laxman Hake, have also undertaken fast in Jalna district in response to demand by pro-quota Maratha activist Manoj Jarange on the implementation of the draft notification that recognises Kunbis as “sage soyare” of community members and seek a law to identify them as Marathas.
In February this year, the Maharashtra legislature unanimously passed a bill granting a separate 10 per cent reservation in education and jobs to the Maratha community under a separate category.
However, the community has been demanding quota under the OBC group.
Kunbi, an agrarian group, falls under the OBC category, and Jarange has been demanding that Kunbi certificates be issued to all Marathas, thus making them eligible for quota in government jobs and education.
Reacting to Jarange seeking inclusion of “sage soyare” term in the Maratha reservation notification, Girish Mahajan, state minister of rural development and panchayat raj, said such demand will not withstand legal scrutiny. The term “sage soyare” in Marathi means through birth relations and by marriage.
Speaking to reporters in Pune on Wednesday, Mahajan accused the Opposition of deriving political mileage from the Maratha reservation issue and asserted it was the previous Devendra Fadnavis government that granted reservation to the Maratha community without disturbing the quota of other communities.
“In the last 50 years, had anyone made efforts to give reservation to the Maratha community? Sharad Pawar had even said that there was no need to give reservation to Marathas,” claimed Mahajan.
