NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar urged the central government on Friday (October 4) to effect a constitutional amendment to increase reservation in education and government jobs beyond the existing limit of 50 per cent. Shiv Sena, on the other hand, questioned his intention behind raising the issue just ahead of the Assembly Elections in Maharashtra and asked what he had done to get the work done during his stints as the chief minister.
What did Sharad Pawar say?
Speaking to reporters, Pawar said that while granting reservation to Marathas, who have been agitating for quota, care should be taken to ensure that such limits meant for other communities are not disturbed. “Currently, the cap on reservation is 50 per cent. But if Tamil Nadu can have 78 per cent (quota for various communities), why can’t Maharashtra have 75 per cent reservation,” Pawar asked.
The Centre should take the lead and bring a constitutional amendment to raise the quota cap. “We will support the amendment,” he said.
Shiv Sena spokesperson and MLA Sanjay Shirsat asked why Pawar could not resolve the reservation issue when he was in government.
“Sharad Pawar was CM of Maharashtra four times and Congress had a full majority that time. Why did Sharad Pawar not remember this then? The issues were kept hanging and now, they are talking about it when elections are nearing,” he said in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Had Pawar taken steps earlier, the quota issue would have been solved long ago. “The government is now doing whatever it can to arrive at a solution,” he said.
Pawar also said that the seat-sharing discussions among the Opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will continue next week and advised them to conclude the talks “as early as possible so that we can go to the people, who are looking for a change”.
MVA partners NCP (SP), Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress fought the recent Lok Sabha polls as one unit and performed impressively, winning 30 of the 48 seats in the state. The Maharashtra Assembly Elections are due in November.
Pawar said there is anger in the state over incidents like the Badlapur case, wherein a contractual sweeper, who later died in an alleged shootout with police, allegedly sexually assaulted two kindergarten girls on their school premises.
Pawar takes a jibe at PM Modi
About PM Modi’s likely visits to Maharashtra ahead of Assembly polls, he said the PM addressed 18 rallies before the Lok Sabha elections and lost in 14 constituencies. “For assembly elections too, he should address many rallies,” he quipped.
(With PTI inputs)
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