Maratha Reservation Row: Fadnavis Cautious, Pawar Backs Manoj Jarange-Patil's Demand

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday indicated that the Maratha reservation would take some time, while another Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that the government is positive about the demand raised by activist Manoj Jarange-Patil.

“We are not opposed to the demand of the OBC census. We have already cleared our stand on the issue. Also, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has repeatedly said that the government is committed to give the Maratha community the reservation that will last,” Fadnavis told the media at Nagpur.

He, however, added that adequate care is being taken to avoid a Bihar-like situation after the OBC census and hence the methodology has to be carefully selected. The government has also initiated a process to fill up the vacancies in the Backward Classes Commission, Fadnavis said.

Meanwhile, speaking to the media at Madha in Solapur, Pawar said that the government agrees to the demand raised by Jarange-Patil, and that the government is speaking to several experts on it. He also added that it needs to be verified that how many of Marathas have been benefitted out of the 10 per cent EWS reservation.