MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Congress on Thursday demanded that the state raise the OBC reservation quota from 27% to 42%, on the lines of the Congress-led Telangana government, saying this was the only way to amicably resolve the ongoing dispute over quotas.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal said that the government issued the GR granting reservation to the Maratha community by accepting the provisions of the Hyderabad Gazette.
“If the government is going to implement the Hyderabad Gazette, then will Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis follow the example of the Telangana government reservation formula to conduct a caste-wise census and grant 42% reservation to the OBC community, like Telangana. If it happens, then it will resolve the dispute between Marathas and OBC,” said Mr Sapkal.
He said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis cannot fool some people sometimes, but he cannot fool all the people all the time. “Mr Fadnavis is very good at twisting words and confusing the masses. On one hand, he says state GR will help Marathas to get Kunbi certificate and get OBC reservation, while other hand, he says Marathas will not be included in OBC. Mr Fadnavis should decide what exactly he wants to say and which community he is appeasing and cheating. Both cannot be true at the same time — one has to be clarified. Because of the government’s stand, confusion has arisen between the communities,” said the Congress leader.
He alleged that, “The BJP-led alliance government wants to create discord between communities in the name of reservations. That is exactly what is happening in Maharashtra today. While the government has announced that the demands of the Maratha community have been accepted, the OBC community has taken to the streets in protest. The Congress’s position remains clear — the Maratha community must get a reservation. The only effective solution to provide reservations is a caste-wise census. However, the BJP government does not seem very supportive of it. Merely announcing a caste-wise census will not suffice; its implementation is necessary. Only then can a permanent solution to the reservation issue be achieved,” said the Congress State President.