Submitted resignation to CM Shinde as he allocates portfolios, says Bhujbal

Mumbai: Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, who has opposed the reservation to Marathas under the OBC grouping, on Sunday said he had submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as he is responsible for the allocation of portfolios.

Notably, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has not yet reacted to the announcement made by Bhujbal at a rally on Saturday that he resigned on November 16 but kept mum on the advice of the chief minister and the Deputy chief minister. Deputy CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has said that Bhujbal’s resignation has not been accepted.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be able to clarify, he told reporters. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday dubbed Bhujbal’s disclosure about his resignation a ‘hogwash’ and suggested that the NCP leader and BJP were hand in glove.

Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs of NCP, including Bhujbal, joined the Shinde government last July. “A chief minister allocates ministerial portfolios and informs ministers about their responsibilities. It is always the prerogative of a chief minister whom to include in his Cabinet, and accordingly, the state governor is informed,” Bhujbal told reporters in Nashik when asked why he submitted his resignation to Shinde, who belongs to Shiv Sena.

The disclosure by Bhujbal that he had resigned as a minister has put a focus on the Maratha quota tightrope the Eknath Shinde-led government is walking amid restlessness in OBCs, whom the BJP counts as loyal voters.

Taking a swipe, Raut said Bhujbal claims he resigned from the Cabinet last year but he attended subsequent meetings of the council of ministers.

“It is said that Devendra Fadnavis is behind Bhujbal’s outbursts against the handling of the Maratha quota agitation led by (activist) Manoj Jarange. Both are hand in glove. I will resign but you will not accept it or you resign and we will not accept it,” he claimed. Bhujbal has accused the state government of facilitating “backdoor entry” of the Maratha community into the OBC quota by pandering to the demands made by Jarange.