Maratha reservation: Congress, NCP question govt after minister Chhagan Bhujbal demands stay on Kunbi certificates

“The government is purposely creating a rift between Marathas and OBC, complicating the issue of reservation. The Shinde committee was formed despite the existence of the state Backward Class Commission. A senior minister from the cabinet (Bhujbal) is objecting to it, and therefore, it is clear that the government has no intention to solve the issue,” said Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole.

Bhujbal had demanded a stay on the Kunbi certificates being given to Marathas over the past two months and the scrapping of the Justice (retired) Sandeep Shinde Committee formed to explore ways to provide reservations to the Maratha community.

He even asked the Backward Class Commission not to survey the Maratha community alone to prove its social backwardness but instead study the backwardness of all communities and compare it with Marathas.

NCP’s Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, too, slammed the state government, asking why Bhujbal was placing his demand on the public forum instead of speaking in cabinet meetings.

“This government has the support of 200 MLAs. Despite that, the cabinet minister had to choose to speak in a public rally. What does the state cabinet do? The cabinet discussion is being spoken out in public. This so-called triple-engine government has no coordination, and it is evident,” said Sule, taunting the BJP, which is the largest party in the alliance government with 108 MLAs.

Sule said her party has maintained an identical position in Mumbai and Delhi when it comes to the issue of reservation of Maratha, Dhangar, Lingayat and Muslims. “This government cannot come out of infighting within the cabinet at a time when the state faces issues such as unseasonal rains, drought, unemployment,” she said.