Maratha quota: Not sidelined in party, asserts Chhagan Bhujbal

Mumbai: Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Friday said that he has not been sidelined in the Ajit Pawar-led NCP group, an ally of the BJP, for his criticism of the state government’s handling of the Maratha quota agitation.

“I have not been sidelined. I am a minister. So far, no one in the party has spoken against me. Ajitdada also said that I have all the right to speak for the OBCs (other backward classes), something I have been doing all along,” he said.

To a question on MLA Sanjay Gaikwad of Shiv Sena, another ruling partner, demanding that he be 'kicked' out of the Maharashtra cabinet, the minister of food, civil supplies and consumer protection said everyone has the right to demand his resignation.

“I have been working for the rights of OBCs for several years. I don’t seek anything in return. No proposal has been offered to me to join BJP,” he said after being asked about activist Anjali Damania’s tweet claiming that he has an offer to join BJP.

“But whether to keep me in the cabinet or not is the prerogative of the chief minister (Eknath Shinde). I don’t think he will kick me out because I used to be a leader of his mentor Anand Dighe in Shiv Sena,” Bhujbal said, adding that CM Shinde though has the authority to remove him from the cabinet anytime.

“I want to tell Sanjay Gaikwad that I was a senior professor at the 'Shiv Sena institute' where you studied,” the NCP leader said, stressing the need for toning down the language of criticism.

Gaikwad had said Bhujbal should be 'kicked' out of the cabinet for opposing the decision of the state government to provide Kunbi (OBC) certificates to Marathas.

Earlier, Bhujbal had questioned the “backdoor entry” of Marathas into the OBC category and said that he was not satisfied with the state government's decision on the reservation issue.

“The OBCs are having a feeling that they have lost their reservations as Marathas will take the benefits,” he had said.