Maratha quota: Bhujbal boycotts Cabinet meet, threatens to approach court
Maratha quota: Bhujbal boycotts Cabinet meet, threatens to approach court
M.U.H
04/09/202556
A day after the Maharashtra government issued a Government Resolution (GR) implementing the Hyderabad Gazetteer to help Marathas in Marathwada seek Kunbi status and reservation under Other Backward Classes (OBCs) category, prominent OBC leader and NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Wednesday skipped the state Cabinet meeting, saying he will approach the courts if needed to challenge the decision.
“We will approach the courts if legal experts tell us that the GR is going to harm the interests of OBCs,” he said.
Further signalling his displeasure over the Mahayuti government’s decision, Bhujbal, whose party is a constituent of the NCP, and his son and NCP MLC Pankaj Bhujbal did not attend the dinner hosted by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday night.
“I was present in the pre-Cabinet meeting. I had a scheduled appointment because of which I did not attend the Cabinet meeting,” Bhujbal told The Indian Express.
Sources in the NCP said Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar held a telephonic conversation with Bhujbal after the OBC leader’s displeasure with the GR. However, he could not persuade Bhujbal to attend the Cabinet meeting, the sources added.
NCP ministers on Wednesday afternoon held a meeting, without Bhujbal, to discuss the situation.
Later, Bhujbal issued a statement appealing to OBCs to remain calm and allow legal experts to examine the GR first. “Appropriate legal action will be taken after studying the GR. But till then I appeal to all to remain calm and not indulge in any protest,” he said.
He appealed to OBC organisations not to disturb law and order considering the ongoing Ganesh festival and call off the planned agitations against the GR.
Last year, in the wake of Maratha protests led by Manoj Jarange Patil, Bhujbal had organised counter-protests by OBCs.
When asked whether Bhujbal boycotted the Cabinet meeting, Shiv Sena minister Uday Samant said, “I don’t know whether he boycotted the meeting, but his chair was empty.”
In the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the Maharashtra government announced a Cabinet sub-committee for OBCs headed by BJP leader and state Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule to look into the welfare of the communities. The committee includes Ganesh Naik, Pankaja Munde and Atul Save from the BJP; Chhagan Bhujbal and Dattatray Bharne from the NCP, and Sanjay Rathod and Gulabrao Patil from the Shiv Sena.
The committee has been tasked with supervising and implementing various schemes meant for OBCs as well as consulting legal experts on various issues concerning the communities. The committee will put forward its suggestions and recommendations to the state government for the welfare of OBCs.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil ended his five-day hunger strike at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan on Tuesday evening after the Maharashtra government accepted most of his demands, issuing a GR on implementing the Hyderabad Gazetteer to extend Kunbi status to Marathas of Marathwada.
The Hyderabad Gazetteer is a document which will help Marathas establish their Kunbi credentials, the government said.
According to the three-page GR, released by the social justice and special assistance department, three-member committees at the village level — comprising the gram revenue officer, gram panchayat secretary and assistant agriculture officer — will scrutinise all applications. Applicants without land ownership documents must submit affidavits proving that they or their ancestors resided in the area before October 13, 1967. The committees will also consider affidavits or testimonies from relatives, clan members, or other villagers who already possess Kunbi certificates.
The committee has been tasked with supervising and implementing various schemes meant for OBCs as well as consulting legal experts on various issues concerning the communities. The committee will put forward its suggestions and recommendations to the state government for the welfare of OBCs.
Based on these inquiries, the authorities will issue Kunbi, Kunbi-Maratha or Maratha-Kunbi caste certificates.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Fadnavis said: “We have maintained that we will not allow injustice to any community. Nor would we allow a situation where Marathas and OBCs are at loggerheads. We have ensured adequate safeguards and given justice to both communities.”
