Pankaja Gopinath Munde of BJP and Dhananjay Munde of NCP.
Credit: DH File Photo
Mumbai: The Munde cousins — Pankaja and Dhananjay — have backed reservation for the Maratha community but made it clear it should not come at the cost of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Pankaja and Dhananjay are the daughter and nephew, respectively, of late BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde, who served as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Union Rural Development Minister. The family belongs to the Vanjari-OBC community.
The duo voiced their stand during the annual Dussehra rally at Bhagwangad in Beed district.
“Gopinath Munde supported Maratha quota and we are also in favour of it. But don’t take it from our plates. My community is starving today. I cannot sleep after watching the struggle of people,” said Pankaja, a BJP MLA and Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Animal Husbandry in the Maha Yuti government led by Devendra Fadnavis.
She added: “I never paid heed to caste while campaigning during elections. I always gave importance to humanity.”
Dhananjay, an NCP MLA from Parli in Beed district and a former minister, echoed her position. “We are not against the Maratha community. I have supported reservation for every caste and community whenever the demand has arisen, right from my student days. We are happy that Marathas have got reservations. However, some people want it from the OBC category,” he said.
“Marathas have got reservation…give more, but do not touch the OBC category,” he added.