Agencies
The disclosure by Chhagan Bhujbal that he resigned as a minister last November has put a focus on the Maratha quota tightrope the Eknath Shinde-led government is walking amid restlessness in OBCs, with Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray claiming Bhujbal and the Bharatiya Janata Party are hand in glove. Hours after the dramatic announcement was made by Bhujbal, who belongs to the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, at a public rally on Saturday, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said his resignation has not been accepted.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be able to clarify, Fadnavis told reporters. Shiv Sena-UBT MP Sanjay Raut dubbed Bhujbal’s disclosure about his resignation a ‘hogwash’. The Shiv Sena led by Shinde, BJP, and the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) are the constituents of the Mahayuti government. Bhujbal claims he resigned from the Cabinet last year but he attended subsequent meetings of the council of ministers, Raut told reporters in Mumbai on Sunday. “It is said that Devendra Fadnavis is behind Bhujbal’s outbursts against the handling of the Maratha quota agitation led by (activist) Manoj Jarange. Both are hand in glove. I will resign but you will not accept it or you resign and we will not accept it,” Raut claimed.
Bhujbal’s bete noire and the face of Maratha protests, Manoj Jarange, on Sunday, said the OBC leader was trying to ‘damage’ Deputy CMs Fadnavis (BJP) and Ajit Pawar (NCP) with his statements about the Maratha reservation. Bhujbal has accused the state government of facilitating ‘backdoor entry’ of the Maratha community into the OBC quota by pandering to the demands made by Jarange. He has sharpened his attack against the government after it issued a draft notification accepting Jarange’s demand that blood relatives of Marathas with Kunbi (OBC sub-caste) records, will be given the Kunbi certificates.
Addressing a rally of OBCs in Ahmednagar on Saturday, Bhujbal referred to the demands being raised by some leaders from the state government and the Opposition for sacking him as a minister in view of his public outbursts against the handling of the Maratha reservation issue.
