MUMBAI: As the clamour grows for including Other Backward Class (OBC) as part of the 2021 census, there is a demand that Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray should seek an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put across the same demand.
MLC Kapil Patil wrote to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray asking him to meet PM Narendra Modi to press for inclusion of OBC as a part of 2021 census.
MLC Patil said that a Bihar CM Nitish Kumar led delegation met Modi in Delhi on Monday and the same should be done by Uddhav Thackeray for the larger interest of the OBC community in Maharashtra.
“There was the demand for inclusion of OBC in census from the southern states, but it has also gathered momentum in the north. Therefore, Maharashtra should not lag behind and just like Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), the OBC should be part of the census. Maratha, Dhangar, and Muslims are demanding the reservations so this census will be very crucial to establish the percentage of OBC populations across the country and the state as well. Before that , the chief minister should call an all-party meeting in Mumbai where all the nitty-gritty can be discussed and worked,” Patil said.
NCP minister and OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal was also meeting several leaders across the party to press the demand of OBC reservations. Bhujbal earlier met former Maharashtra chief minister and BJP MLA Devendra Fadnavis with the same demand. Bhujbal is in Delhi on Monday to consult legal experts and meet the leaders.
NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said that they are confident that PM Narendra Modi will make an announcement including OBC as part of the 2021 census. “During the UPA government, the OBC population data was collected, but later that data was never made public by the BJP government. Despite several demands by states including Maharashtra, the empirical data was not shared by the Centre. We urge PM Modi that now in the 2021 census, the OBC should be included like other ST and SC category,” Malik added.
Congress minister Vijay Wadettiwar, who is also OBC leader said that due to the lack of OBC data, the OBCs are deprived of the reservations in the local body elections. “BJP should not use the OBC for the electoral benefits but they should conduct the program for the welfare of the OBC. This welfare will be done once we got the authentic data of OBC in our hands. Therefore, the 2021 census is very crucial,” Wadettiwar said adding there is huge unrest among the OBC community over this issue.