Mumbai: Not all are ready to welcome the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Maharashtra. Modi who is on one-day tour to Solapur today, will have to face outrage from the disgruntled Dhangar community and Congress workers. Dhangar leaders on Tuesday alleged, Modi and the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had betrayed their community by breaching the poll promise of assuring reservation.
Fadnavis in the 2014 election campaign had promised to give reservations in the first cabinet meeting itself, if they were elected. It has been almost five years since Fadnavis has been elected as CM and has still not made any moves to that effect.
Upset at being ignored, Dhangar community leaders will boycott Modi’s programme and stage protests during his one-day tour.
Since last one week, Dhangar community leaders belonging to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Solapur have been holding press conferences decrying the party false assurances of giving a quota to Dhangars. Before the 2014 general elections, Modi had assured giving reservations to our community during a public address at the same venue in Solapur, Park Stadium. We want to remind him of the false assurance given to us.
Dhangar community will boycott his programme,” said Ganesh Gawde, a BJP leader from Solapur hailing from the Dhangar community. He further said, both Modi and Fadnavis had betrayed the community. In 2014, Modi had accused the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of cheating the Dhangar community. Back then we had wholeheartedly backed BJP for the Parliamentary and Assembly elections.
But now, after nearly five years of BJP rule in the state, they have conveniently forgotten the promise they made,” Gawde said. Modi’s event and rally is significant as it marks the official start of the BJP’s election campaign in the state. After pacifying the disgruntled Maratha community by giving them reservation, BJP is in a soup now for not giving reservations to Dhangars.
After coming to power, the Fadnavis-led government had commissioned Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to undertake a study on the backwardness of Dhangars community. However, it has yet to make public the TISS report. Meanwhile, Congress legislator Praniti Shinde, accused the district administration for disallowing cable network for Modi’s tour.
The district administration has denied permission to stage protests and it is against the constitutional rights. Congress and other several organisations along with Dhangar community asked permission for the protest which was denied. Hence, it will be ‘black day’ for the people,” she alleged.
