Mumbai Diary | Ajit Pawar’s strong bond with nephew Rohit
The saying “blood is thicker than water” is evident in Maharashtra politics, particularly in the strong relationship between DCM Ajit Pawar and his nephew NCP SP MLA Rohit Pawar despite their affiliations with different political parties. In the controversy surrounding IPS Anjana Krishna, Rohit crossed party lines to defend Ajit, asserting that his uncle is straightforward and the IPS officer may have misunderstood him. Earlier, the DCM took credit for Rohit’s victory in the in the recent state polls, attributing his success to ballot voting. When Rohit faced a fund crunch in his constituency, he even sought his uncle’s assistance, as the finance minister.
Ministers now getting divided along caste lines
For the welfare of Maratha and OBC communities, the Maharashtra govt recently constituted two cabinet sub-committees. Headed by Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who belongs to the Maratha caste, the first sub-committee for Maratha has 12 members. This body has members from other castes, specifically the OBCs. Recently, another eight-member sub-committee for the OBCs was formed, headed by Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule from the Teli community, which is a part of the OBC. Interestingly, this sub-committee comprises only members from the OBC. This lack of inclusiveness in these committees may send out a troubling message.
Marathas can have the cake and eat it too
The Maratha community would be the only caste in the county to avail the reservations benefits under three categories at state level — OBC -- by obtaining Kunbi certificates; Socially and Economically backward class (SEBC) which has 10% reservation; and the third – the Economically Weaker Section (EWS). At the national level, since there is no SEBC, they can access reservations either in the OBC or EWS categories. In terms of gaining admission in medial, engineering and other top institutions the SEBC and EWS tend to be more convenient compared to OBC. This is because the merit scores of the OBC category and the general students are quite similar.
Sudhir Suryawanshi
Our correspondent in Maharashtra
suryawanshi.sudhir@gmail.com