Ajit Pawar Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said the central government must take steps to formulate a law to remove the 50% cap on reservations. He was replying to a youth who interrupted his address during the Shiv Jayanti celebrations at Shivneri Fort on Saturday.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray skipped the celebrations “as he was recuperating after the surgery”.
Addressing the gathering, Pawar initially spoke about the preservation of forts. When he began speaking on the issue of reservation, a youth suddenly rushed forward and sought to know as to how long the Maratha reservation issue will remain pending. “In the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, how long should we wait for justice,” he asked.
“Don’t interrupt… I have allowed you to speak earlier… Have you taken ‘supari’ from someone,” Pawar said. “Today is Shiv Jayanti, this is not the way to speak.”
He told the youth that he also belonged to the Maratha clan. “I, Balasaheb Thorat and Dilip Walse-Patil, all are from Maratha clan… Shivaji Maharaj set up swarjaya by taking people from all castes and creed together. We too have to emulate the same principles. We have to ensure that reservation for other communities is not affected.”
“The Supreme Court has ruled that reservation should not exceed 50 per cent. It is the central government which will have to make a law to get more than 50 per cent reservation,” he added.
Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, Revenue Minister Balasheb Thorat and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray were also present. On the occasion, Pawar said there will be enough funds for the protection and preservation of Shivaji-era forts in the state.
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