Uproarious scenes were witnessed in the Maharashtra legislature on Tuesday with members demanding reservation for Marathas, Lingayats, Muslims and Dhangars.
The Maratha-reservation demand thus is slowly compounding into a major political issue and getting complicated - ahead of the 2019 election year.
The BJP-Shiv Sena saffron alliance government decided to seek a legal opinion whether or not to table the report of the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) - that has recommended reservation to the Maratha community - in the Vidhan Sabha.
Meanwhile, the Congress and the NCP seems to be divided on the issue of tabling of report. Leader of Opposition in Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil of Congress said that for clarity on the issue of Maratha reservation the report needs to be tabled urgently. "Whether the reservation to Marathas would be within the existing 52% or beyond it needs to be known," he said.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar said that there was no need to table the report without checking whether it can be challenged in court. "A section of society intends to challenge the commission's report in court," he said.
Patil also said that the government is committed to provide reservations to the Dhangar (shepard) community under the ST category changing it from the present VJNT category. For this, the Maharashtra government is working with the Centre, sources said, adding that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with Fisheries Minister Mahadev Jankar is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Published 20 November 2018, 19:18 IST