Congress presses Fadnavis govt on Hyderabad Gazette implementation: Will backward classes get 42% reservation?

Party seeks to know whether the Maha Yuti dispensation will grant 42% reservation to the backward classes like Telangana, as it is ready to implement the Hyderabad Gazette

MUMBAI: Slamming the BJP-led Maha Yuti dispensation of Maharashtra, the Congress has sought to know whether the government will grant 42% reservation to the backward classes like Telangana, as it is ready to implement the Hyderabad Gazette.

“The Maha Yuti government in the State has issued a government order granting reservation to the Maratha community by accepting the provisions of the Hyderabad Gazette. If the government is going to implement the Hyderabad Gazette, then will Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis follow the example of the Telangana government, which conducted a caste-wise census and granted 42% reservation to the OBC community in their State?" asked Maharashtra Congress president Harshavardhan Sapkal.

Sapkal said the reservation matter in the State is grave, and disputes have now arisen between the Maratha and the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) over it. 

“To address the Maratha community’s demand for reservation under the OBC category, the Maha Yuti government has issued a government order on implementing the Hyderabad Gazette. But the real question is: how much faith can one place in Fadnavis’ words? Many of his past announcements have later turned out to be mere rhetoric,” said Sapkal.

“Currently, even as discussions are ongoing that the Maratha community will get reservation from the OBC quota, the government is simultaneously claiming that the OBC community’s reservation will remain untouched. If the Maratha community is indeed going to get a reservation from the OBC category, then the government’s claim that the OBC reservation will be unaffected raises serious questions. Both cannot be true at the same time — one has to be clarified. Because of the government’s stand, confusion has arisen between the communities,” the former MLA said.

“The BJP-led alliance government wants to create discord between communities in the name of reservation. That is exactly what is happening in Maharashtra today. While the government has announced that the demands of the Maratha community have been accepted, the OBC community has taken to the streets in protest. The Congress’ position remains clear — the Maratha community must get a reservation. The only effective solution to providing reservations is conducting a caste-wise census. However, the BJP government does not seem very supportive of it. Merely announcing a caste-wise census will not suffice; its implementation is necessary. Only then can a permanent solution to the reservation issue be achieved,” he said.