Maratha quota: Remove Chavan as subcommittee chief, says Mete

Mete, speaking to reporters in Pune, said Chavan was not serious about winning the Maratha quota case in the Supreme Court. The SC had, on July 15, said it would commence from July 27 day-to-day hearing through video-conferencing on a batch of pleas challenging the Maharashtra law granting reservations in jobs and education to the Maratha community.

Shiv Sangram Party leader Vinayak Mete on Saturday sought the removal of Congress minister Ashok Chavan as the head of Maharashtra government's subcommittee on Maratha reservation. Mete, speaking to reporters in Pune, said Chavan was not serious about winning the Maratha quota case in the Supreme Court.

The SC had, on July 15, said it would commence from July 27 day-to-day hearing through video-conferencing on a batch of pleas challenging the Maharashtra law granting reservations in jobs and education to the Maratha community. "The BJP-Shiv Sena government had offered reservations to the Maratha community. However, the new government under Shiv Sena is not serious about the issue," Mete said.

"Ashok Chavan, who heads the cabinet subcommittee on Maratha reservation, does not seem serious about winning the case. He should be removed," Mete claimed. Mete said he would stage a one-day protest in front of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the location depending on the latter's scheduled visit to Nashik on Sunday, or later in Pune.

On August 3, Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat, speaking in Nagpur, had refuted Mete's allegations and said the subcommittee under Chavan was working hard and meeting all stakeholders..