Devendra Fadnavis assures Chhagan Bhujbal of 'no injustice to OBCs' day after NCP leader skips Cabinet meet

Mumbai: To defuse the crisis involving the Maratha abnd OBC reservation issue, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis spoke to NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who had boycotted the Cabinet after the BJP-led Maha Yuti decision accepted the demand of Manoj Jarange-Patil to accept Marathas of Marathwada region as Kunbis based on records of Hyderabad Gazetteer.

The 77-year-old Bhujbal, who holds the food, civil supplies and consumer protection portfolio, is a veteran OBC leader and the founder of the Akhil Bharatiya Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad.

“We have to take everyone ahead, we are committed to the welfare of the Maratha community as well as other communities. There would not be any injustice to OBCs,” Fadnavis said.

When pointed out Bhujbal had not come for the Cabinet meeting to register protest, he said: “No one has left Cabinet. I have spoken to Bhujbal saheb…I am sure he will accept this, I explained to him that there would not be any injustice to the OBCs. I am confident all OBC leaders will accept it."

“This GR does not give a blanket reservation. It is only a GR of evidence. We have not accepted the demand that all Marathas should be included in the OBC category. We have only facilitated the path for those who have valid evidence,” the CM said.

Fadnavis statement comes after the Maharashtra government constituted a nine-member Cabinet sub-committee to expedite socio-economic, educational welfare measures for the OBCs headed by state revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule which includes Bhujbal.

Rashtriya OBC Mahasangh National President Baban Taywade addresses media after the organisation ended its six-day-old protest

Meanwhile, OBC welfare minister Atul Save visited the OBC activists who were protesting under the banner of Rashtriya OBC Mahasangh at the Samvidhan Chowk in Nagpur and explained to them that the government order will not impact the OBC quota.

"The OBC quota would not have any impact because of Maratha reservation…the government is committed to fully protect the existing OBC reservation,” he said, assuring the protesters after which they withdrew the agitation.

Under the leadership of Rashtriya OBC Mahasangh president Babanrao Taywade, they were undertaking chain hunger strike.

Responding to demands raised by OBC leaders, Save said the government would hold discussions with banks about relaxation of the mandatory CIBIL scores for applicants seeking financial assistance for businesses and entrepreneurship."The number of guarantors required for an OBC applicant has already been reduced from two to one, and we will implement this effectively," he added.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Bhujbal said, "We will conduct a thorough study of the decision of the government and take appropriate steps ahead. Once it is concluded through lawyers and legal experts that this GR is causing harm to OBCs, and after it is deemed necessary to approach the court in this regard, we are prepared to go to the Bombay High Court or the Supreme Court."