Congress will resolve issues related to reservations if voted to power in Centre and Maharashtra: Patole

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Maharashtra congress leader Nana Patole on Monday said that the Congress party will resolve the issues related to reservations in government jobs and education if voted to power.

Alleging that the Central and Maharashtra governments are not willing to address these issues, Patole said, "If Congress is voted to power in the Centre and Maharashtra, we will definitely solve these pending issues. Our leader Rahul Gandhi's demand for a caste census is in line with our resolve to get to the root of these issues and come up with a solution."

Maharashtra is witnessing protests by the Maratha community led by activist Manoj Jarange seeking reservation in government jobs and education under the OBC category. The Other Backward Classes (OBC) groups, however, are opposing any move to induct Kunbi-Marathas into their fold.

Speaking to reporters, Patole accused the Eknath Shinde-led government of being indifferent to farmers who lost their crops to erratic rains. "Industrial investment in the state is on the decline. Every time Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Maharashtra, he takes away some investment opportunity to Gujarat which has affected the state government revenue," the Congress leader said.

He claimed at least 16 ministers didn't attend the last Cabinet meeting held in Mumbai which indicates the state of affairs in the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) government.

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"Already, 17 posts of ministries are vacant. On top of it, 16 ministers did not even attend the last meeting of the Cabinet. This shows the kind of situation the state is going through," Patole said.

Meanwhile, quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil Monday reiterated his demand for Maratha quota and said the community wants its rightful reservation in government jobs and education.

He was addressing a public meeting in Kharadi area of Maharashtra's Pune's city as part of his visit to parts of the state to interact with Marathas and raise awareness about the issue of reservation.

The activist said as per the information he has received on the scrutiny of documents (by a government-appointed committee), so far 29 lakh cases have been found where there is a mention of "Kunbi" in the respective documents pertaining to Marathas.

"If this is a fact, then why the Maratha community has been deprived of reservation for the last 70 years? If there are proofs of Marathas having Kunbi (antecedents) mentioned in the documents, we need to know the name of the person who did not allow Marathas to get a reservation," he said. (With inputs from PTI)