Fadnavis upstages Maratha ex-CMs

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court order on the Maratha reservation is being seen as a victory for CM Devendra Fadnavis and may boost the BJP-Sena combine’s confidence ahead of state polls.
Political observers said Fadnavis could claim he has achieved what no other Maratha chief minister or leader has. Taking note of lacunae in the actions of the erstwhile Congress-NCP government as well his own government in 2015, the chief minister pushed for a legislation which has stood the scrutiny of the court.
Fadnavis said it is significant that the high court upheld the state’s legislative competence to enact a law for reservation under extraordinary circumstances.
He congratulated the legislature for unanimously passing the SEBC Act in November 2018 and added the government has managed to give quota to Marathas without touching the OBC quota.
Prakash Pawar, a political analyst, said, “Marathas had stood behind Congress-NCP, now the whole bunch might go with BJP-Sena.” He added this could also be “the end of Maratha (caste-based) politics.”
State Congress president Ashok Chavan said the original decision on quota was taken by Congress-NCP. “BJP government did not take the demand seriously. It woke up after Marathas held processions,” he said. Narendra Patil, a Maratha leader who recently joined Shiv Sena, said the order was welcome. Ex-Dy CM and OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal said all communities would be happy as Maratha quota is independent of existing reservations. MLC Haribhau Rathod, an OBC, asked for a caste census. “The state should provide quantifiable data on caste population and share in jobs and education. Somebody will approach for the data and the case will go on,” he said.