Mumbai: Amid BJP’s repeated attack on the Maha Vikas Aghadi government for not being serious about the restoration of Maratha reservation, Public Work Minister Ashok Chavan on Tuesday asked the saffron party to stop using Goebbels tactics to mislead the people by giving wrong information. Chavan, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on Maratha quota, in his reply to the debate on supplementary demands in the state assembly said if BJP is serious about the restoration of Maratha quota, it should stop criticising the government and instead help the government in the Supreme Court.
He said the BJP should cooperate with the state government instead of politicizing sensitive issues like Maratha reservation. He reminded opposition parties supported the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act 2018 by the BJP government proposing Maratha quota and it was unanimously passed in the state legislature.
“While passing this law, the then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that we are making a 'foolproof' law that will stand in court. If the Maratha quota has been stayed by the Supreme Court even after the arguments of the lawyers appointed by the BJP government, should we shift the responsibility to Fadnavis?’’ asked Chavan.
The BJP-led opposition parties on Tuesday staged a walk out of the Legislative Council on the issue of Maratha reservation.
The leader of opposition Pravin Darekar said, "This government is running away from questions. Maratha students are protesting at Azad Maidan, we wanted to raise the question in the House but we were not allowed. So, we walked out in protest."
"The Maharashtra government does not seem to be serious about Maratha reservation. It should put all its efforts in the Supreme Court for the Maratha Reservation. The government should also take care that OBC reservations remain intact and unchanged," he said.
Earlier in the day, BJP held a protest on the steps of Vidhan Bhavan over various issues including women safety and Maratha reservation.
