MVA govt supports Maratha quota: Bhujbal on SC stay order

During a meeting held in Nashik, he also assured them that the legal battle for the Maratha reservation will be fought effectively. Representatives of the Maratha Kranti Morcha met the Food and Civil Supplies Minister days after the Supreme Court's interim stay on the 2018 Maharashtra law providing for quota to the Maratha community in government jobs and education.

Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal, a prominent OBC leader from the ruling NCP, on Sunday told the Maratha representatives that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was in favour of quota for the community. During a meeting held in Nashik, he also assured them that the legal battle for the Maratha reservation will be fought effectively.

Representatives of the Maratha Kranti Morcha met the Food and Civil Supplies Minister days after the Supreme Court's interim stay on the 2018 Maharashtra law providing for quota to the Maratha community in government jobs and education. During the meeting, Bhujbal said although he belonged to the Other Backward Class (OBC), he favouredreservation for the Maratha community.

He said that with the apex court giving an interim stay to the quota implementation, getting justice for the Maratha community is entirely a legal battle. "NCP chief Sharad Pawar and the MVA government completely support the quota and the legal battle will be fought effectively," Bhujbal said.

He also told the representatives that their demands of withdrawal of cases against the quota protesters, hostel facilities for Maratha girls would be taken up with the government. He said that since he planned to travel to Delhi for a meeting called by Sharad Pawar on onion export ban last week, he had told the Maratha representatives that he could not meet them at that time.

"But as my Delhi visit got cancelled, I gave an appointment to the Maratha community members. However, before coming to meet me last week, they shouted slogans against me. They tried to create a divide in the society by showing that I am opposed to the quota," Bhujbal told the reprentatives.

"The legal battle is not against MLAs or ministers but it has to be fought in the court," he said. Karan Gaikar, a Maratha Kranti Morcha representative regretted the protest against Bhujbal and said it happened due to "miscommunication".

"But we have nothing against him," he said..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)