Pawar promises Oppn support if Centre removes quota cap

Pune: Amid the Maratha-OBC quota tussle in Maharashtra, NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar on Monday said the Opposition will cooperate if the Centre brings a policy to remove the Supreme Court-mandated 50 per cent quota ceiling on reservations.

At the state level, Pawar appealed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the quota dispute.

Pawar’s call for collective discussion comes a day after he faced the ire of Maratha protesters who stopped his SUV in Solapur district and asked him to clear his stand on the quota issue. On Monday, a delegation led by Maratha Kranti Thok Morcha leader Ramesh Kere Patil called upon the NCP (SP) chief at his residence in Pune. It sought to know Pawar’s stand on the community’s demand for the reservation in government jobs and education.

“There is an obstacle (on increasing reservation ambit) as the Supreme Court had ruled that the 50 per cent quota ceiling cannot be breached while granting reservations. The onus is on the Centre to draft an appropriate policy,” Pawar said after Kere Patil met him and submitted a memorandum.

The Centre’s policy needs to change, and if it takes the initiative, the Opposition will cooperate, said Pawar, one of the tallest leaders of the INDIA bloc. Pawar said he met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde recently and suggested convening a meeting of all political parties to resolve the (quota) issue. “He (Shinde) should invite leaders he feels appropriate, and we, as an Opposition, will also attend and cooperate,” Pawar said, adding that quota activist Manoj Jarange and OBC leaders, including state minister Chhagan Bhujbal, should be invited for the meeting. Pawar on Sunday faced angry Maratha protesters who stopped his SUV in Solapur district seeking to know his stand on the quota issue.