Governor unveils Savitribai’s statue

Bhujbal denied the allegation,saying the invitation for the event was sent to the Governor before the change of guard in the state on October 30. He said he had no problem in supporting Maratha reservation provided the share of OBCs did not go down owing to it. However,he added,“Though OBCs constitute 54 per cent of the population,the communities do not get any proportional share in budget like what the scheduled castes get.”

He also presented a five-point charter of demands,which included OBC reservation in state legislatures and Parliament as well as judiciary,at the convention.

Pawar,who also holds the Finance portfolio,said the next state budget would be based on social justice. He announced that the Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule memorial buildings,which are located a couple of hundred metres away from each other,would be conjoined and their premises beautified. The Pune Municipal Corporation would acquire the land for the purpose and around 254 tenants,whose land would be acquired,would be rehabilitated.

Commission for Denotified Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Tribes former head Balkrishna Renke was awarded the ‘Mahatma Phule Samata Paraskar’ on the occasion. Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan president-elect Uttam Kamble was felicitated.