State for...

This was unacceptable to the Maratha community groups, which demanded recruitment for all 72,000 posts be put on hold until the Bombay High Court (HC) comes to a decision regarding the backwardness of the community and the legality of a quota for them.

Virendra Pawar, a Maratha Kranti Morcha coordinator from Mumbai, said that Fadnavis’s announcement was tactical rather than a genuine attempt to resolve issues. “No one knows when MSBCC is going to submit its report and when special session will be called. Similarly, Fadnavis is saying that the cases will be withdrawn. In contrast, police is arresting thousands of Maratha youths and charging them with serious charges like section 307,” said Pawar.

Shiv Sena’s spokesperson Anil Parab, who is also the party’s leader in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, said, “The party pressed the chief minister to clear the legal hurdles to secure reservation. We also demanded that cases against Maratha youth, who were booked during agitation, should be withdrawn, and the mega recruitment drive of the state government should keep posts separate for the community till a decision is arrived at.”

Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, leader of Opposition in the state assembly, said the Opposition had attended the all-party meet to help maintain peace in the state, but it was not satisfied with the government’s efforts. “This exercise could have been done long back,” Vikhe Patil said.

Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar said Fadnavis could take a leaf out of Tamil Nadu’s playbook. “The state government can pass a law and send it to the Centre to incorporate it in Article 31B of the Constitution, which is part of Schedule 9 and thus cannot be challenged in any court of law; just like Tamil Nadu, which has increased its reservation quota up to 69% against Supreme Court ruling,” said Pawar. Meanwhile, Congress and NCP have called separate meetings of their legislators on Monday to discuss the issue. They are also planning to meet the Governor to discuss calling a special session at the earliest and meeting MSBCC chairperson, retired Justice MG Gaikwad, to request the report be submitted as early as possible.