Make Pankaja Munde CM for an hour to clear reservation: Sena

MUMBAI: Ahead of the crucial allparty meeting to discuss the reservation for Maratha community, the Shiv Sena took on chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Latching on to the statement made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pankaja Munde that she would not have delayed the decision on Maratha reservation if she were in-charge, the Sena asked if the government is stalling the decision to grant reservation to the community.

Speaking to Maratha protesters earlier in the week at Parli in Beed district, Munde took a veiled swipe at Fadnavis and said, “Had the file of Maratha reservation been on my table, I would not have delayed it even for a moment. This issue is being delayed as it is pending in the high court.”

In an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Sena asked, “What Pankaja Munde can do, why is it not possible for Fadnavis to do ?” The editorial added, “If Pankaja Munde can take a decision on the Maratha reservation, then she should be unanimously made the chief minister for an hour so that the reservation file is cleared.”

The Sena took a swipe at Fadnavis and said that Munde said she is ready to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the reservation issue. “Then why doesn’t chief minister Fadnavis go to New Delhi to meet the Prime Minister and resolve the issue,” the editorial asked. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party also attacked Modi and said that he is often out of the country and “has no interest left in the issues of the country.”

The editorial added that the issue is giving “sleepless” nights to Fadnavis.

“Revenue minister Chandrakant Patil said that the chief minister works till the wee hours. It is maybe true because if he blinks then Pankaja Munde will sign on the reservation file,” the editorial added.

The editorial further stated that Fadnavis should “search the file and take the demands of the Maratha community ahead.”