Two days after the Maharashtra legislature cleared Maratha quota bill, the Shiv Sena Saturday took a veiled dig at the ruling BJP saying a political mileage should not be derived out of the issue. In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Sena said the Marathas should get the reservation with "due respect".

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party, which is a ruling constituent in the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, also said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis handled the Maratha quota issue "cleverly' and with patience. "All political elements were taken into confidence before providing reservation to Marathas," the editorial said. On November 29, the state legislature passed a bill proposing 16 per cent reservation in education and government jobs for the Marathas under specially created Socially and Economically Backward Class (SEBC) category.