16 November,2023 05:53 PM IST | Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar | mid-day online correspondent
Chhagan Bhujbal. File Pic/Facebook
Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal and senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar are expected to be present for a rally of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Jalna's Ambad area on Friday, an official said, reported the PTI.
According to the PTI, the official said that the liquor shops will be shut in Ambad and Ghansawangi tehsils in view of the rally, while other measures too have been taken to ensure the event passes off peacefully.
The rally will take place at 11am in Dhait Nagar, just 26 kilometres away from Antarwali Sarati, the centre of the Maratha quota agitation under activist Manoj Jarange since August 29, as per the PTI.
Both Chhagan Bhujbal and Vijay Wadettiwar, who is Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, have opposed giving quota to the Maratha community from the OBC segment.
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Manoj Jarange, on the other hand, has been demanding that the Eknath Shinde government distribute Kunbi certificates to every member of the community for reservation purposes. Kunbis are categorised as OBCs in the state.
Meanwhile, the "backdoor" attempts to grant the reservation to the Maratha community under the OBC category will be opposed, Maharashtra minister and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) leader Chhagan Bhujbal had earlier this month said, the PTI had earlier stated in a report.
He had also said violence and pressure tactics will not be tolerated, the remarks coming against the backdrop of the protests seeking the reservation for Marathas in various parts of the state, the news agency reported.
Chhagan Bhujbal stressed that he was not against granting the quota to Marathas in government jobs and education which can be given separately.
"Protesters are using force and intimidation to attain their objectives. The Marathwada region has witnessed a surge in arson and violence during the Maratha reservation protests," Bhujbal had told reporters.
He had said that when Maratha leaders realised that they wouldn't get the reservation directly (outside the OBC quota), they attempted to obtain it through the back door (within the OBC category).
"We will not allow such tactics and will fight to protect our reservation," he had said.
The Constitution provided reservations to uplift socially backward communities and it is not a poverty alleviation programme.
"The chief architect of the Constitution, B R Ambedkar, has provided the reservations based on social backwardness and not on the economic criteria," the minister had earlier said, as per the PTI.
He had appealed to members of the Other Backward Classes to unite for the protection of their reservation rights and stressed the need for unity.
(with PTI inputs)
