The Shiv Sena on Monday said the government should not wait for the report from the State Backward Class Commission on reservation for the Maratha community, and instead call a special Assembly session to pass a law granting the quota.
“The government has said it will wait till the commission submits its report [to hold the special session]. We believe there is no need to wait for the report, ” said Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.
Mr. Thackeray said that once passed, the law can be sent to the Centre for approval, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power. “The law can be cleared in the State as we will stand with the government on the issue. We believe that the issue should be resolved at the earliest,” he said. A delegation of Sena leaders and MLAs was to visit Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis later with the demand.
Mr. Fadnavis, after an all-party meeting on Saturday, had announced that a special Assembly session would be called within a month after the commission submitted its report.
Earlier, Sena MLAs held a meeting with Mr. Thackeray to discuss the ongoing pro-quota agitation by Maratha outfits. “Marathas hitting the streets is not an instant phenomenon. The community has been raising the issues through its protest marches for last two years. Had they been given importance earlier, nothing of this sort would have happened,” Mr. Thackeray said.
On the government’s reasoning that it could not grant reservation due to an ongoing court case on the matter, Mr. Thackeray said, “Usually, politicians prefer to put a matter in the hands of court and then appoint a committee while waiting for the verdict. The question is, does the issue really warrant the court’s intervention?” Mr. Thackeray asked.