Letters to the Editor: Nov 30, 2018

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November 29, 2018

1) External Affairs Ministry acts cautiously

Union Ministry of External Affairs rightly exercised full caution towards invitation to the Union Minister for External Affairs for the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor by sending two ministers from the Sikh community to represent India instead of going herself. Such a wise step clearly indicated that India took the whole episode in a religious manner. It was clear that Pakistan intended to take undue advantage of the event when Pakistan Prime Minister involved Kashmir in his speech on an occasion which was purely religious. Presence of the Khalistan supporter Gopal Singh Chawla and Pakistan army chief on the occasion fuelled apprehension of opening of the much-needed corridor as a possible attempt by Pakistan to renew Khalistan-movement in India.

Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Siddhu, who went in the ceremony despite resistance by his Chief Minister, signing in full praise of the Pakistan Prime Minister should now justify his peace-efforts by persuading his friend Imran Khan to free Kulbhushan Jadav and send him back to India.

– Madhu Agrawal

2) Regulation of private airlines necessary

It refers to biggest private domestic airliner Indigo charging extra fees for web check-in. Evidently, this is an anti-consumer step when families or people travelling in a group will be provided separated seats if they do not pay extra for getting seats together. System of charging extra for preferred seats should be altogether abolished in economy class. However there may be provision of Business-Class and Premium-Economy-Class as it exists in Vistara- in case Indigo or other private airliners wish to increase their income.

Most private airliners are involved in many other malpractices also, like selling packaged food at multiple times higher than available in market. These airliners get Maximum-Retail-Price MRP printed high for being sold in airliners like rupees 100 against rupees 20 for a famous branded packaged juice. Such anti-consumer practices need to be abolished by concerned ministries taking cognizance.

Only recently GoAir on October 29,2018 in flight-number 145 from Delhi to Ranchi (seat-number 6A and PNR-number DE164B) could not provide pre-booked meal even from amongst the four options available in its menu-card. On lodging the complaint, GoAir simply offered a polished worded apology without even refunding the paid food-cost. There was no response from its Appellate Authority. Even grievances lodged on November 1, 2018, with Union Ministry for Civil Aviation through PG-portal and at websites of President and Prime Minister remain unresolved till date.

– Subhash Chandra Agrawal

3) Pak PM must be appreciated

The Prime Minister Pakistan of Imran Khan really deserves to be appreciated for his heartening move of Kartarpur pilgrimage corridor irrespective of all the conflicts between India and Pakistan. It is a great gift not only for the Sikh community also for the entire nation of India. Also it is expected that the corridor will be a milestone of all the disputes between both the countries and would promote peace and erase enmity between India and Pakistan and create infinite possibilities between them including the resumption of cricket ties as Punjab Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu also has said. I request the government of India to come forward with Pakistan to settle down all the differences and disputes.

– F.T.Mulla

4) A heartening move

It is heartening to see Pakistan and India announce the development of a pilgrim corridor, on both sides of the border, to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev. Imran Khan will lay the foundation stone for the corridor on the Pakistani side, while President Ram Nath Kovind and Amarinder Singh will do the foundation-laying ceremony on the Indian side. This is the first signs of a thaw in India-Pakistan relations that plummeted to a new low two months ago when a meeting of Foreign Ministers was cancelled and positions hardened on both sides after a soldier was mutilated on border. I hope this initiative will bring some measure of peace to the region, which is necessary for both countries to develop.

– Qayyum

5) I appreciate the Governor of J&K

In such an age when India is witnessing an autocratic system, Jammu and Kashmir’s Governor Satya Pal Malik is highly appreciated for his manful move for not looking upto Delhi and for not taking their instructions, thereby stopping the installation of a government of the BJP and its proxies. Though the Modi government wanted him to install Sajad Lone as the state’s Chief Minister, right before he dissolved the assembly last week, he did not listen to the Centre. Rather he said “I want to reiterate it that I would have had to form a government of Sajad Lone had I looked up to New Delhi, but I didn’t want to go down in the history as a dishonest man.” I expect hopefully that millions of my fellow citizens will join me to appreciate Malik’s courage and honesty for his responsibility.

– Mohd Rahmani

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Unfavourable weather conditions keep Delhi’s air quality ‘very poor’

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Afternoon Voice

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November 29, 2018

Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Thursday due to “unfavourable meteorological conditions” that slowed down dispersion of pollutants, authorities said.

The overall air quality index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 353, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.

The CPCB said seven areas in Delhi — Ashok Vihar, Anand Vihar, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Rohini, Vivek Vihar and Wazirpur — recorded ‘severe’ air quality.

Twenty areas in the national capital recorded ‘very poor’ air quality while it was ‘poor’ in six areas, it said.

The level of PM2.5 — particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres — was recorded at 206 and the PM10 level was recorded at 360, it said.

In NCR, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Noida recorded ‘very poor’ air quality while Gurgaon fell into the ‘poor’ category, the CPCB data showed.

According to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, the wind speed and ventilation index are “extremely unfavourable” for dispersion of pollutants.

Ventilation index determines how fast pollutants can get dispersed.

The ventilation index of around 6,000 sqm/second gets rid of pollutants, but it fell to 2,500 sqm/second on Thursday in the city.

According to the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR), the air quality is ‘very poor’ and likely to improve due to a slight increase in the wind speed. It will, however, remain in ‘very poor’ category for the next two days.

“Due to cold front up in the north, the wind speed has increased, so a decline (in pollution levels) is expected. However, at the time of withdrawal (of high wind speed) after two to three days, a lot of moisture may enter Delhi which is not favourable for the air quality. The contribution from stubble burning is nil,” the SAFAR said.

Maratha quota Bill to be introduced before end of Winter session: Minister

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Afternoon Voice

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November 29, 2018

Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil on Thursday said the bill providing for reservation to the Maratha community will be introduced in the state assembly before the end of the Winter session.

The state’s legislature session is scheduled to conclude tomorrow.

Patil also informed the state assembly that the action taken report (ATR) on the State Backward Class Commission’s recommendations for Maratha quota will be tabled in the House Thursday.

The state Legislature’s Winter session, which is scheduled to conclude tomorrow, may be extended, “if needed”, he said.

Soon after the House assembled for the day and Speaker Haribhau Bagde called for the Question Hour, Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar questioned why the Maratha quota Bill was not listed in the day’s business, as promised.

“What is it that the government wants to hide? Tomorrow is the last day of the Winter session. The opposition members want to discuss the quota issue,” Vikhe Patil said.

Pawar said since the previous Congress-NCP government had introduced the Bill, “we have experience about what could have gone wrong that the (high) court stayed our decision.”

“We can give valuable suggestions to ensure the new bill is watertight,” he said.

Responding to Opposition leaders, Patil said, “We will table the ATR today and the Bill will be introduced and passed before the end of the session. If needed, the Winter session will be extended.”

After the Question Hour, the tabling of ATR on the State Backward Class Commission’s recommendations was listed in the day’s agenda but there was no mention of the Bill.

The government had earlier said that the Bill pertaining to Maratha quota would be introduced in the state Legislature on November 29.

A Cabinet sub-committee chaired by Patil has been holding marathon meetings to prepare the draft Bill.

The Maratha community, which constitutes over 30 per cent of the state’s population, has been demanding reservation in government jobs and education for a long time.

The community’s agitation for the same in July and August this year had taken a violent turn.

Narendra Modi broke promise of being an “honest” PM: Rahul

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Afternoon Voice

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November 29, 2018

Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday that Narendra Modi has broken every single promise of his, including being an “honest” Prime Minister.

Speaking at a students’ convention in poll-bound Telangana, he also made a strong pitch for farm loan waiver.

Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and caretaker Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao “make many, many promises” but do not deliver on them.

“The prime minister made promises of depositing Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every citizen, two crore jobs to youth every year, farm loan waiver and a just minimum support price for farm produce. He also promised he will be the ‘chowkidaar’ of this country and not the Prime Minister.

“You have seen that he has broken every single promise. He has broken the promise of being an honest Prime Minister,” he said.

Gandhi alleged the prime minister gave Rs 30,000 crore to industrialist Anil Ambani in the Rafale deal but not the farmers their due.

“If the Prime Minister of India can write off (rupees) three lakh fifty thousand crore of 15 people…the richest people in the country, then he should be ready to waive the loan of India’s farmers,” he said.

The Congress leader said what he was asking for was fair treatment to everyone. “If you are treating the richest people in the country (well), and you are giving them loan waiver, then you owe that to the farmers of the country also,” Gandhi said.

Addressing the convention organised by private educational institutions, he said the Congress party believes in fairness and all its policies are designed to create a level playing field for different sections of people.

He also said that Rao got a golden opportunity to build a newly created state and do things in a fresh way but he fritted it away by “indulging in corruption and promoting family rule”.

Gandhi asked the audience to recollect his speeches of the last 15 years and identify even one commitment he made and did not honour.

“I am not in the habit of lying to our people. I am not in the habit of making false promises. I made a commitment to farmers about agricultural loan waiver in Karnataka and Punjab, and when we were voted to power there, we wrote them off,” he said.

Gandhi said that he would never make tall promises like creating two crore jobs every year or putting Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of people.

“It is a matter of my credibility and I take that very seriously,” he asserted.

Gandhi alleged the TRS government had favoured large corporate institutions.

Referring to the Congress manifesto, he promised health insurance for the staff of private educational institutions recognised by the government, “reasonable” power tariff and reduction in municipal and property taxes.

If voted to power, the Congress-led alliance will also try and revive thousands of minority institutions that failed as a result of the policies of the TRS government, he said.

Deeply saddened, hurt by aspersions cast on me: Mithali Raj

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Afternoon Voice

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November 29, 2018

Responding to the India women’s team coach Ramesh Powar’s report to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), wherein he had accused Mithali Raj of being selfish and putting her interest first over the team, the India ODI skipper on Thursday stated that she was deeply saddened and hurt by the aspersions cast on her.

“I’m deeply saddened & hurt by the aspersions cast on me. My commitment to the game & 20yrs of playing for my country. The hard work, sweat, in vain. Today, my patriotism doubted, my skill set questioned & all the mudslinging- it’s the darkest day of my life. May God give strength,” Mithali tweeted.

Replying to Mithali’s tweet, her manager Annisha Gupta wrote, “As an admirer of her commitment to the country for 20yrs, of hard work & winning, when the game finally gets some limelight, we push her under its shadow. You did right by the blue jersey @M_Raj03 , It will too. The country loves you.”

Powar in his ten-page tour report entirely focussed on the 35-year-old batter, which came a day after Mithali’s letter accusing him and Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji of discrimination. Powar also stated that Mithali blackmailed to retire midway through the ICC Women’s World T20 in the West Indies after being denied the opening slot.

FM defends revised GDP numbers for UPA era, Cong calls it a ‘hatchet job’

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Afternoon Voice

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November 29, 2018

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday jumped to defend the revision in India’s GDP growth rate during the previous UPA era, saying the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which came out with the revised numbers, was a credible organisation and maintains arm’s length distance from the finance ministry.

A day after Chief Statistician Pravin Srivastava, in an unusual move, announced the revised numbers based on back series data alongside Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar, Jaitley said, “I don’t think any service is being rendered by those who discredit the highly credible organisation, CSO.”

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram had Wednesday called the revision a “bad joke.”

“Niti Aayog’s revised GDP numbers are a joke. They are a bad joke,” he had tweeted. “Actually they are worse than a bad joke. The numbers are the result of a hatchet job.”

Jaitley said when the CSO had revised upward the growth rate of 2012-13 and 2013-14, the then government had welcomed the decision.

The same yardstick has been applied by the CSO while revising the growth downwards, he said.

Just months before the general elections, the country’s economic growth rate during the previous Congress-led UPA regime was lowered Wednesday, shaving off over 1 percentage point from the only year when India posted double-digit GDP growth post liberalisation and from each of the three years with 9-plus per cent expansion.

Recalibrating data of past years using 2011-12 as the base year instead of 2004-05, the CSO estimated that India’s GDP grew by 8.5 per cent in the financial year 2010-11 (April 2010 to March 2011) and not at 10.3 per cent as previously estimated.

Similarly, 9.3 per cent growth rate each in 2005-06 and 2006-07 was lowered to 7.9 per cent and 8.1 per cent, respectively, while 7.7 per cent rate was now estimated for 2007-08 instead of 9.8 per cent.

Chidambaram had called the revision a “hatchet job” by Niti Aayog.

“Now that Niti Aayog has done the hatchet job, it is time to wind up the utterly worthless body,” he had tweeted. “The earlier numbers were calculated by the National Statistical Commission. Has the commission been disbanded?”

“Former Chief Statistician Pranab Sen is absolutely correct. Niti Aayog has nothing to do with tabulation of data,” he had said. “I wonder if Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar will agree to a debate the data than telling journalists that their questions are “undeserving of an answer”, he said.

A decade of Mumbai attack

By

Jayanthy Subramaniam

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November 29, 2018

Pakistan and its ISI are in a war with India since a long time. Beyond a point, we cannot expect America to help India. Russia is in its own. China is the ardent driving force of Pakistan in its war against India which will not stop even after any resolution of Kashmir, as Musharraf has already stated that intention in an interview. So we Indians have to deal with the various threat of Pakistan, China, Naxals, poverty, atrocities on women, other weaker sections of society, population explosion, polygamy etc. Trust Indian armed forces which are the best saviour. With our cognizance and help, they will win the jihadis and their supporters for us.

What a great country is ours! Whether BJP rules or Congress, a small neighbour has been wagging tail right from independence and we are at the receiving end with no international support for us! Some bold action required to pay the neighbour in their own coin for a long time. And that also after taking help of almost all the major investigating agencies around the world. It’s a shame that our investigating agencies are so incompetent. We should rather hire FBI for investigating for us and pay them hefty fees for doing it well.

What a way fellow humans are being perpetrated by the individuals who think the god invented much later in human history is the true one! The funny part is those who have been the attackers/thieves and plunderers over centuries cry and lament that they have been wronged and are illiterates. Pakistan’s ISI has been instrumental in training and arming and the logistics for infiltration across the porous Indian border. It is well known that the Pakistan Army calls the shots in the day to day administration. In this case, a route by sea was shown for infiltration. Despite strong corroboratory evidence, the handlers have not been brought to book. It was nice on the part of the FBI to provide crucial evidence.

Pakistani terrorists and the fast Motor Boat that passed by dozens of Indian Navy Warships and Coast Guard vessels in Mumbai harbour and created terror on that fateful day shows how weak and incapable is our security system in place. The Indian intelligence and surveillance by the Indian Navy and CG were nullified on November 26, 2008. A handful of Terrorists seized the Taj hotel, went about their mission killing nearly 400 innocent people including the anti-terrorism top cop of Mumbai. How many civilians lost their lives in the serial attacks which has now become history now.

Our Police Force needs better awareness of the importance of FORENSICS in every case they handle, even some ‘white collar’ crimes. I believe the first police to arrive at the scene of the crime should secure it properly with tapes and notices warning persons not to come in. This is often not done. Important items of evidence are often “dumped” in Police Stations where ‘contamination of evidence’ takes place. Senior Police Officers need to act in educating every one of their rank and file.

Quite strange are the ways of investigation. We are hunting for tough evidence and proofs to show that the 10 nonstate actors, who sailed from Karachi and entered Mumbai, killed 166 people besides injuring more than 400 innocents in the name of terror. In the process, what best evidence one needs other than the confession of the last elected PM-Nawaz Sharif who in May 2018 publicly acknowledged in an interview to leading newspaper of Pakistan about the Pakistani terrorists belonging to LeT outfit. Nine of these terrorists got Killed while as the lone survivor-Ajmal Kasab was tried and finally hanged. Mr. Sharief also criticized the delay in the Mumbai attack trial in Pakistan and how the founder and trainer of LeT camp, Hafiz Sayyed and Lakhvi are enjoying free life in that country and have even floated a political party. The USA has even declared a hefty bounty on the head of accused Hafiz Saeed.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Dengue afflicts average 3 Mumbaikars daily

By

Afternoon Voice

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November 28, 2018

Within the jurisdiction of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, at least 3 cases of confirmed dengue patients are reported each day and 37 cases of suspected dengue are reported daily as per the averages and information provided by the MCGM to RTI Activist Anil Galgali.

Galgali had sought information about the details of patients afflicted by Dengue in the past 3 years. The MCGM’s Public health department provided Galgali with information pertaining to years 2016, 2017 and up to 11th November 2018 a period spanning 35 months. It also provided the information about the confirmed dengue cases and those who died due to the dengue. The detail of confirmed dengue cases in the year 2016 was 1180, in 2017 was 1134 and from 1st January 2018 to 11th November 2018 was 945. Out of which the casualties in 2016 was 7, in 2017 was 17 and in 2018 up to 11th November 2018 was 14. The cases of suspected dengue reported for the period of 2016 was 13213, 2017 was 12913 and 2018 up to 11th November was 13138.

“As per the details it can be understood that averagely daily 3 cases of confirmed dengue is being reported whereas 37 cases of suspected dengue are being recorded. In the past 35 months, a total of 37 Mumbaikars fell casualty due to dengue making it average of 1 death per month. Galgali stated. He further added, “A sustained awareness campaign which should have been conducted by the public health department of the MCGM is not being done leading to citizens being unaware of complete information related to causes of the disease.”

How long will Regularisation of Mumbai slums be just a plan?

By

Twinkle Mehta

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November 28, 2018

India’s financial centre is undergoing the greatest construction boom in the country’s history. Huge apartment buildings are being erected, scraping the sky; yet just metres from these luxury condominiums, exist Mumbai’s vast slums. A majority of Mumbai’s population resides in these jumbled shantytowns. With a series of fire incidents taking place in the slums rapidly and a huge chunk of the area being illegal with the lack of fire extinguishing facilities and also thriving with illegal food shops making it impossible for dwellers to escape during such accidents! Isn’t it high time that the government must take deliberate steps so that blighted slum areas can be regularised?

In a recent data revelation by the Maharashtra government, there have been over 49,000 incidents of fire in Mumbai in the last one decade, killing more than 600 people, however, out of which 3,151 were reported in slums. Faulty electricity systems caused 33,946 blazes while 1,116 incidents were due to gas leakage and 14,329 cases were due to other reasons.

In the wake of rising mishap, the state government’s proposed housing policy aims to make the city slum-free by 2022. The Maharashtra government is also planning to amend the slum law and provide for termination of contracts with private builders, if they don’t complete the projects of MHADA, the state housing agency, in time. While the nonparticipants in the slum scheme will be evicted if the 50 per cent of dwellers have been shifted, this move is believed to help to resolve many stalled slum redevelopment projects in the city.

Social Activist Anjali Damania called this SRA scheme a ‘bogus one’ and said that it has been done plainly to support builders and get them land parcels.

She further expressed, “Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana should have been implemented years ago but it has not happened until now. Ideally, there should be some fresh rules and regulations and it’s not just about the security, complete re-organisation is required because what is happening in case of fire is that the fire extinguishers cannot reach the interior because of the narrow lanes-there is absolutely no planning.”

MHADA will conduct a survey to ensure the eligibility of the slums that could be rehabilitated. According to the reports, slum dwellers will be allowed to choose developers for redevelopment, failing to which within a year, SRA will take bids on its own. If the private developers are unwilling for the same, then SRA will provide viability gap funding of up to 40 per cent to make redevelopment attractive. The government claims to make an attempt for redevelopment will anyhow begin within a span of three years. The slum on private land will be redeveloped jointly with MHADA or private developers within two years. In any case, if it remains to be unsuccessful, the land will be sold to the government under the land acquisition act. Experts here believe that if the government takes the rehab serious and work meticulously then Mumbaikars can hope for a slum-free city.

BJP spokesperson Avdut Wagh asserted, “Government is taking all precautions – the SRA scheme, affordable houses scheme and improvisational scheme are there. Housing Minister Prakash Mehta has recently declared that Ramabai Colony, Kamraj Nagar at Ghatkopar will be developed as a complex; the Dharavi improvement project is going on in various phases. Gradually, the government is trying to give good houses to stay to the people. Once the slums are converted into proper housing, I think the fire incidents will also reduce in number.”

He continued, “Another problem is unauthorised slums where the electric connections are unauthorised leads to short circuit, storage of gas cylinders and improper handling of gas cylinders. However, all of these are man-made, not any natural calamity.”

Under the redevelopment scheme, free houses will be constructed for eligible slum dwellers and they will also be entitled to construct houses for sale in the open market. The state government has fixed a Floor Space Index (FSI) of 4 for the project. FSI is the ratio between the built-up space to the area of land on which a building stands. However, the real estate experts believe that it will not be an easy project for the Maharashtra government to go ahead with the plan.

Shiv Sena corporator Datta Narvankar raised doubts on SRA and the government’s delay in the implementation of SRA schemes, “We are representatives of the people; we do request the government about the issues such as lack of broad roads and space issues for fire engines to enter into the slums. Now whether they will do it or not is up to the government. The media should also question why the SRA schemes are so slow in implementation?”

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government said that it would regularise tenants living illegally in transit camps and buildings redeveloped by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). The Bombay High Court rejected the regularising of the slums. Nonetheless, the experts have expressed their concern about the seriousness of the state government in making the city slum-free.

Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam commented, “The SRA plans are taking so much time because the government has not been able to sort out the disputes between the slum dwellers and the builders. Basically, the BMC is required to create more stringent laws as far as fire safety is concerned. There are no fire safety regulations in Mumbai and the departmental officers never ask the builders or the slum dwellers to adhere to the rules. BMC must make sure that stringent rules should be made and there should be no compromise.”

It would be wrong to blame the government as they are restricted to certain limitations considering slums not being regularised. But the government and the SRA must take a serious look into the matter as to how slums can be regularised and take a lesson to value the lives of the slum dwellers as nearly over 60 per cent of the pollution resides in the slums.

Winter session can be extended for Maratha quota Bill: Govt

By

Afternoon Voice

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November 28, 2018

The ongoing winter session of the Maharashtra legislature may be extended if needed to pass the Bill which provides for reservation to the Maratha community, Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil said on Wednesday.

Patil was speaking in the Legislative Council on the opposition demand to table the report of the State Backward Class Commission (SBCC) which has termed the Maratha community as “socially and economically backward”.

The minister is also the Leader of the Upper House.

Raising the issue, Leader of Opposition Dhananjay Munde of the NCP sought to know why the BJP-led government was “hiding” the reports of the SBCC and the TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences), providing for reservation to the Maratha and Dhangar communities, respectively.

The Dhangar (shepherd) community has been pressing for reservation under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.

He said if the government tables the Action Taken Reports (ATRs) on the SBCC and the TISS findings on Thursday, it means it is not serious about holding a discussion over the reservation issue in the House.

Responding to him, Patil said sufficient time will be provided to members to place their views over the ATRs.

“Sufficient time will be given to discuss the ATRs and the (Maratha quota) Bill as well. If needed, the session will also be extended,” the minister said.

According to the current schedule, the winter session, which began in Mumbai on November 19, will conclude on November 30.

Patil said the government has accepted the recommendations of the SBCC and added there is no precedence of its report being tabled in the House.

“The only precedence is of the yearly report (of the commission) being tabled. When the law is finally made on Maratha reservation, I am sure Opposition members will congratulate the government in private,” Patil said.

A Cabinet sub-committee was formed last week to study the SBCC’s report on reservation for the Marathas in government jobs and education and take a decision on it.

The government had received the report on November 15 and it was placed before the Cabinet on November 18 for approval.

The government proposes to provide reservation to the Marathas under a new category, “Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC)”, without disturbing the existing quotas for SCs, STs and OBCs.

However, the government has not yet revealed the quantum of reservation it intends to provide to the politically influential community which constitutes over 30 per cent of the state’s population.

Maratha groups are demanding a 16 per cent reservation.