Rane criticises Uddhav and Raj Thackeray for opposing reservation for Maratha community.
Former Chief Minister Narayan Rane launched a scathing attack on Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and MNS supremo Raj Thackeray and said that both cousins are not serious about granting reservation to Marathas. Rane asked them to clarify their stand on providing quota to the Maratha community. He added that Sena did not make any representation in support of reservation. Rane said that Uddhav had recently apologised for the cartoon published in Sena mouthpiece Saamna only to gain sympathy from Marathas. Even Sanjay Raut had apologised as there was pressure from the Maratha community. The Congress leader said that Sena is only issuing statements about offering reservation to Marathas to lure them. Marathas comprise around 32 per cent of the population in Maharashtra.
Rane said, “The government must seriously look into the matter of providing reservation to Marathas otherwise the silent morcha held by the community may turn violent and Shiv Sena will be held responsible for it. Recently it was the Sena which refrained from signing a resolution moved by parties in the state legislature, demanding quota for the Marathas. Therefore, Sena is clearly opposed to it.”
“Raj Thackeray had backed historian Babasaheb Purandare who had distorted history and defamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. What can I expect from such leaders? Parties like Sena and MNS have not grown as they had sidelined Marathas,” he added.
At a time elections will be held in more than 200 municipal councils in different parts of Maharashtra Maratha community activists have been holding morcha in various regions of the state. Therefore every political party is trying to woo Marathas.
A committee was set up under the leadership of Rane to study the socio-economic status of Marathas. The committee members had interacted with more than 18 lakh people and prepared a 139 page report. The erstwhile Democratic Front government had provided reservation on the basis of the report. However Rane alleged that the incumbent government had failed to produce the report and facts properly before the court and hence the reservation was stayed. He questioned the intention of Shiv Sena and said that the party has never backed reservation for Marathas.
The Supreme Court has imposed a cap of 51% for reservation. The erstwhile Democratic Front government had provided 16% reservation to Marathas. The Rane committee had emulated the Tamil Nadu government’s formula for providing reservation to Marathas. Even though the Tamil Nadu government had implemented 69 per cent for backward classes the court has not stayed this extension.
