Congress leader Nana Patole.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: The Congress has accused the BJP of complicating the reservation issue in Maharashtra and called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in resolving the imbroglio.
“The BJP has committed the sin of creating conflicts between different castes in the state over the reservation issue,” Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole said.
According to him, the BJP has worked to undermine the ideologies of Phule-Shahu-Ambedkar. The BJP has misled the Maratha and OBC communities on the reservation issue, harming social harmony. Those in power need to make decisions on reservations, but they are asking the opposition instead. The Congress party's stance on reservations is clear: there should be a caste-wise census and the 50 per cent cap on reservations should be removed, as Rahul Gandhi has publicly stated. “This is the responsibility of the Central government, so the BJP government at the Centre should make a decision on it. If the Congress government comes to power in the State and the Centre, we will resolve the reservation issue,” said Patole, a former Legislative Assembly Speaker.
Patole said that the Congress's stance on the reservation is clear - conduct caste-wise census and remove the 50 per cent cap imposed by the Supreme Court.
Patole also lashed out at the BJP’s Deputy Chief Minister, who had been twice Chief Minister, ex-Leader of the Opposition in Legislative Assembly and now Deputy Chief Minister.
“In 2014, Fadnavis promised reservations for the Maratha, Dhangar communities. Despite this, Fadnavis made grand claims, boasting that if they came to power, they would resolve the reservation issue within 24 hours. However, even after 10 years of the BJP government at the centre and the same government in the state, the reservation issue has not been resolved,” said Patole.
The BJP has misled the Maratha and OBC communities on the reservation issue, harming social harmony, he said, adding those in power need to make decisions on reservations, but they are asking the opposition instead.