Centre must remove 50% cap on quota, raise it by 15% to solve Maratha reservation: Sharad Pawar

The NCP chief’s remarks came ahead of his fourth public rally, in a bid to rebuild the party after the rebellion by his nephew and state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

An agitation demanding reservation for Marathas has flared up in the state since September 1, following police lathicharge on protesters, demanding the reservation in Jalna district of Marathwada region.

Commenting on Ajit’s challenge to prove the Opposition’s allegations that the Mantralaya had ordered the lathicharge, Sharad Pawar said that it was the “government’s job to find out who lathicharged the protesters”.

Recalling that the tribal affairs minister had resigned in 1992 when the tribals’ march faced police force, resulting in the death of several protesters, the NCP chief said that the “same sensitivity was absent in today’s ministers”.

Addressing his fourth public rally as part of his state tour to rebuild the party after the rebellion, Pawar said, “The BJP, which controls the power in the state and the Centre has no affection towards farmers. They have no love for those who are getting affected by drought nor do they worry about drying up of dams. The power has gone to wrong people. Be it Maharashtra or any other state, the citizens are facing injustice.”

Pawar also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order a probe into the allegations of corruption that he had levelled against NCP leaders in Bhopal. Days after this, Ajit had joined hands with the BJP. “If anyone has committed any wrong, then punish that person. Probe that person. But what punishment will you give to yourself if your allegations are false? Levelling false allegations is not a proud moment for the country,” he said.

Jalgaon is the home district of MLC Eknath Khadse, former BJP leader who switched to NCP . The rally also marked the show-of-strength of Khadse, whose daughter Rohini is now the head of the NCP’s state women’s wing.

Earlier, NCP’s state unit president Jayant Patil addressed Khadse saying he should now start preparations for the Lok Sabha polls. “You have been instrumental in sending two MPs to Lok Sabha from this region. Now it is time that you should start preparations to win Lok Sabha,” said Patil.

Khadse played videos of BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis levelling allegations of graft against Ajit Pawar and the NCP and announcing that he will never join hands with the NCP.

Alleging that crop insurance is not being made available to farmers despite the government’s announcement, Pawar said, “The Narendra Modi government has been in power for nine years. What did it do? It broke parties. Be it Shiv Sena or the NCP. Instead of using the power for the welfare of the people, they used the agencies to silence the opposition. They misused the power.”

Mentioning Ajit’s claim that the CM or the DyCMs did not order lathicharge on Maratha protesters in Jalna district, NCP state unit chief Jayant Patil said that not even a child would believe it. “But it is more dangerous that Maharashtra’s police are resorting to lathicharge without the orders from any of these three. Then who is giving the orders,” asked Patil.

Changing country’s name

When asked about the discussion over changing the name of the country to Bharat, Sharad Pawar said that “nobody has the power to do so”.

“Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday called for a meeting of the heads of all parties in the INDIA front, where we will discuss various issues, including speculations about changing the name of the country to Bharat. But nobody has the power to change the country’s name,” he asserted, adding that his party will support the government if it decides to bring in a reservation bill for women.