Maharashtra CM backs Maratha quota, slams Congress-NCP

Nagpur: Boasting about the initiatives that his government has taken for Maratha reservation, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday doubted the intentions of the previous Congress-NCP government on the same and questioned many alleged loopholes that the Congress-NCP combine had made while announcing the reservation. The CM's reply has come a few days before a protest that the Maratha community has scheduled in Nagpur on December 14.

While replying to a discussion in the legislative Assembly on Maratha reservation, Mr Fadnavis described the efforts that his government had taken in a two-year period. At the same time, he also pointed out all the loose ends that the previous regime had left behind, due to which the case for reservation has become weak before the court.

"The court always refers to the Mandal, Khatri and Bapat commissions, which are not in favour of Maratha reservation. A few members on the Bapat Commission were in favour of the reservation, but Raosaheb Kasabe was appointed two months before the committee's tenure got over. It was Mr Kasabe who made negative remarks about the reservation. He was not involved in the survey by the commission, but was allowed to vote nonetheless. Finally, the commission decided against Maratha reservation, while its report narrates a need for the reservation. Why was he (Mr Kasabe) brought in at the last minute? One can have doubts about this question," the CM said.

Taking a dig at former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who tried to claim credit for the decision for Maratha reservation in the previous government, Mr Fadnavis said that it was only after the Lok Sabha defeat that the previous regime took up the reservation issue. "It was a very important decision even for the Congress-NCP government, so why then did it not call for a special session of the legislature to make it an Act? It simply issued an ordinance in haste. Even the Rane Committee's research was not brought before the court's record. We have done it now," Mr Fadnavis said. The CM even pointed out that a scientific survey about the social and financial backwardness of the community had not been conducted.