Jalna, Jun 20 (PTI) Maharashtra Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Thursday warned the state government that any attempt to disturb the quota of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) will not be tolerated.
Stating that he was committed to the cause of the OBC quota, he said he would raise the issue in the upcoming monsoon session of the state legislature.
“Power comes and goes, but I always support the cause of the OBCs,” the leader of opposition in the state legislative assembly said.
He visited Wadigodri village in Jalna district, where OBC activists Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare have been on an indefinite fast since June 13, demanding that the OBC reservation not be diluted.
The protesting OBC activists have been seeking the scrapping of the Maharashtra government’s draft notification that recognises Kunbis as ‘sage soyare’ (blood relatives) of Maratha community members.
Kunbi, an agrarian group, enjoys quota benefits under the OBC category.
Speaking on the occasion, Wadettiwar said, “We will raise this issue in the upcoming assembly session and we strongly oppose any encroachment on the OBC quota. No one has the right to take away our reservation. Any attempt to disturb the quota of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) will not be tolerated.” He said he has spoken to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in a bid to resolve the crisis and a government delegation is expected to visit Wadigodri on Friday to address it.
The Congress leader also talked about Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan’s reported statement that the draft notification on ‘sage soyare’ will not stand in the court.
“If the draft notification won’t stand in the court, why did the government issue it?” he asked.
There was a growing discord between the Maratha and OBC communities, Wadettiwar said, and urged CM Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis to take steps to defuse the tension.
He accused the government of treating protesters from different communities differently, indicating that it was giving preferential treatment to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange.
The Congress leader urged the OBC community to stay united.
He said the OBC community got reservation through the efforts of social reformers like Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Phule and was protected by the Constitution. PTI COR NP
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