CM Uddhav Thackeray meets governor to make a pitch for Maratha quota

MUMBAI: Six days after Supreme Court struck down the law to provide reservation to Marathas in education and jobs, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday called on Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to submit a memorandum urging President Ramnath Kovind to provide for the quota.
This was the first meeting between the governor and the CM in a long time; they have been at loggerheads over several issues, the last being the episode where the governor had to get off a state government aircraft after the CM denied him permission to use it.
“We have submitted our memorandum to the governor. We expect that he will forward it to the President with favourable remarks. I have written a similar memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and in addition, I will meet him soon. I am sure the Central government will do justice to us,” Thackeray said.
He was accompanied by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, state Congress president Nana Patole and cabinet members Ashok Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat, Eknath Shinde and Dilip Walse Patil. Significantly, after the brief meeting, Thackeray made an attempt to blame his predecessor Devendra Fadnavis for the manner in which the apex court struck down the legislation.
“In my opinion, it was not a foolproof legislation and as a result, it did not withstand scrutiny,” Thackeray said.
Fadnavis described the CM’s statement as duplicity, saying that when the law was drafted, the Shiv Sena was a partner in government and now that the state lost the legal battle, the CM is unfortunately blaming him.
In his five-page letter to PM Modi, Thackeray has stated that in view of the SC order, it is the President of India and the government of India alone which can identify and notify the Maratha community as socially and educationally backward, enabling it to enjoy reservation. “I earnestly request you that appropriate steps be taken, albeit in accordance with law, declared by the Supreme Court to identify and declare Maratha community as SEBC to enable them to claim the reservation in education and public employment at least to the extent of 12 per cent and 13 per cent respectively,”he said.