Mumbai: Bhujbal opposes Maratha quota GR, demands withdrawal or amendment

The Maharashtra government is facing a fresh clash from within Chhagan Bhujbal a cabinet minister and NCP Ajit Pawar MLA has opposed the Government Resolution GR on the Maratha reservation demanding that the document be withdrawn or amended But for now the government is in no mood to reverse its decisionBhujbal is said to have written a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asking the government to withdraw or change its September 2 order The GR allows the use of the Hyderabad gazette to give Marathas the status of Kunbis an Other Backward Class OBC a move Bhujbal has strongly objected toAccording to Mantralaya sources Bhujbal penned the letter in his capacity as the founderpresident of Akhil Bharatiya Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad instead of writing as a minister or NCP leader Speaking to the media in Mantralaya Bhujbal claimed that the government should not have called Marathas Kunbis ldquoThe GR needs to be withdrawn or amendedrdquo the OBC strongman addedOn August 29 Maratha activist Manoj Jarange started an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in South Mumbai Jarange demanded that every Maratha from the Marathwada region should be treated as Kunbis and issued OBC certificates Accordingly five days later on September 2 the Maharashtra government issued a GR to end the protestWhile Jarange claimed victory OBC leaders raised a red flag against the GR However Fadnavis claimed that OBC reservation had not been touched and only those who can prove their Kunbi lineage would be issued caste certificatesBut Bhujbal stated that the GR had been issued under pressure from the Maratha agitators in Mumbai ldquoI was not taken into confidence before the GR was issuedrdquo Bhujbal replied when asked about the governmentrsquos claim that he was consulted while issuing the document Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde however reiterated that the government had discussed the matter with Bhujbal before coming out with the GRlsquoNo need to alter GRrsquoMeanwhile head of the cabinet subcommittee on the Maratha reservation and senior BJP leader Radhakrishna VikhePatil claimed that there is no need for any withdrawal or changes in the GR ldquoWe will discuss the matter with Bhujbal and explain to him that OBC reservation has not been affected The government will ensure that his displeasure is addressedrdquo VikhePatil addedEven Jarange has requested that the government not make any changes to the GR ldquoThe government should ignore demand to roll back or make any amendment to the GRrdquo Jarange said warning of a strong protest if any such attempt is made by the governmentEarlier on Monday both Jarange and Bhujbal had warned of moving court against reservation Bhujbal claimed that he would challenge the GR in court In return Jarange threatened to move the court to question the legitimacy of the 1994 GR that forms the basis of OBC reservationOn Monday Jarange urged the government to expedite the implementation of the GR and fulfilment of promises such as giving financial assistance to family members of those who died during the Maratha stir and withdrawing all police cases against protestersAccordingly the committee on the Maratha reservation in its meeting held on Tuesday discussed all the issues After the meeting VikhePatil claimed that providing financial assistance had already started ldquoOther issues too will be sorted out soon Also by the monthrsquos end the issuing of certificates should commencerdquo the BJP leader stated