20 June,2024 08:08 PM IST | Nagpur | mid-day online correspondent
Chandrashekhar Bawankule. File Pic
Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Thursday reportedly accused opposition leaders Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray of being "assassins" of Maratha quota, reported the PTI.
According to the PTI, while speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Chandrashekhar Bawankule also said that the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government in the state has always protected the interests of Marathas and OBC communities.
Asked about NCP chief Sharad Pawar's statement that the Union government should not be a mute spectator to the ongoing agitation of the Maratha community for reservations in jobs and education, Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that the Centre had nothing to do with the issue, the news agency reported on Thursday.
"Sharad Pawar's stand had always been against Maratha reservation," he alleged.
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"Sharad Pawar and (Shiv Sena (UBT) chief) Uddhav Thackeray are the assassins of Maratha reservation," the BJP leader said, as per the PTI.
Chandrashekhar Bawankule also accused Uddhav Thackeray of discarding the Hindutva ideology, and said that was the reason many hardliners from the Muslim community voted for his party in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
The Sena (UBT) chief should introspect on the fact that he left Hindutva and was promoting Congress' interests, he said.
People were tired of Uddhav Thackeray's speeches, Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, adding that he should tell the people what he did during his two-and-half years' tenure as chief minister.
Centre can't be mere spectator, should take lead to resolve quota issue: Sharad Pawar
Meanwhile, the NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said the Centre cannot be a mere spectator and it should take lead to resolve matters pertaining to the quota demand by the Maratha community and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), according to the PTI.
Asked about the increasing Maratha-OBC conflict over the reservation issue in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar said there is only one solution that the Centre should take the lead to resolve it and there is a need for amendments in law and the state and Centre's policies.
In February this year, the Maharashtra legislature unanimously passed a bill granting a separate 10 per cent reservation in education and jobs to the Maratha community under a separate category.
However, the community has been demanding quota under the OBC grouping.
(with PTI inputs)
