BJP to back Maratha reservation demand: Danve

Maharashtra BJP would support the demand of Maratha reservations without changing the existing quota for other communities, the party said today.

'Talking to reporters at the end of the first day of BJP’s state executive meeting here, state BJP chief Raosaheb Danve said a resolution supporting the demand of Maratha reservations would be discussed and adopted at the meeting.

The previous Congress-NCP government issued the ordinance giving reservations to Marathas and Muslims with an eye on the Assembly polls, and that was the reason the ordinance did not stand up to the court’s scrutiny, he claimed.

He rejected the allegation of Congress and NCP that BJP government could not present its stand on the Maratha quota before the High Court adequately.

“We came to power on October 31, 2014. It is just that the court order came during our tenure,” he added.

The ordinance issued by the previous government was challenged before the High Court which stayed it.

Danve said all stake-holders should discuss with the government how best to put the stand before the court (in the ongoing hearing). “We are ready for discussion,” he said.

The state BJP chief also said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced formation of a ministerial group which will hold meetings at the district level regarding the demands of Maratha organisations.

The politically dominant Maratha community has been taking out huge silent marches to press its demands, which has shaken up the politics in Maharashtra. 

Danve said the previous government did not provide sufficient documentary evidence to the court to establish why the community needed the quota. A committee headed by Education Minister Vinod Tawde had now compiled 1200-page documentary evidence, he said.

About the alliance with Shiv Sena for the next year’s Mumbai civic polls, Danve said BJP was preparing to contest all the seats (on its own).

“So far no alliance talks with Sena have taken place. We are ready for talks. Decision on alliance will be taken at local level. If the local leadership is against the alliance, it would be conveyed to the central leadership which will take the final decision,” he said.

About the Kopardi case, where a Maratha girl was raped and murdered brutally, triggering the ongoing protest of the community, Danve said the government was taking all the steps to punish the accused, but the matter should not be politicised.