Congress calls CM ‘pathological liar’
The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) pulled out all the stops in its onslaught against the Devendra Fadnavis-led government on Monday. MPCC president Ashok Chavan accused Fadnavis of being a ‘pathological liar.’
“This chief minister has consistently misled the citizens of Maharashtra on farm loan waivers, Maratha and Dhangar reservations and other pertinent issues. How can one rely on his latest assurance on Maratha resevation,” Chavan told reporters in Nanded.
He reminded Fadnavis of his electoral victory promise of reservations for the Dhangar community. “In his first cabinet meeting, Fadnavis had promised reservations to Dhangars and of resolving the deadlock on Maratha reservation,” said Chavan. He added, “It has been over three-and-a- half years and this government has failed to fulfil any promise.”
He criticised Fadnavis for staying the proposed mega-recruitment drive, alleging it was a ploy to divide the Marathas and other castes. On the other hand, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Nawab Malik blamed Fadnavis for misleading the Marathas.
Fadnavis on Sunday has stated mega-recruitment will no be started until the legal and constitutional process of Maratha reservation will not be completed. The government has proposed to recruit 72,000 posts in various department of the state.
Chavan highlighted the flaws and the prolonged process of disbursement of farm loan waivers, saying a year later, Fadnavis has failed to resolve the matter. He further accused the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders of creating confusion on the issue of Maratha reservations. “BJP leaders are at cross purposes. Fadnavis, Nitin Gadkari and Narayan Rane are giving contradictory versions, creating immense confusion on this issue,” he alleged.
Though reservation for Muslims in education has been approved by the Bombay High Court, the Congress leader alleged, the BJP-led government has made this a sticking point. “The CM is mum on this issue. We demand this government come clean on their position regarding reservations for Muslims,” said Chavan.
Dhananjay Munde, leader of opposition in legislative council, said, “If the CM had handled the situation from Day 1, when the 'thok morcha' (attack protest) had started from Osmanabad, the violence would have stopped before it happened.”
“The CM has to go to the State Backward Class Commission (SBCC) for awarding reservation to Dhangar community, as they have the same issue. The CM must be aware Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) does not have constitutional status and hence, its report on reservation for Dhangar will not hold in the high court,” said Munde.
Nawab Malik said, “Recruitment is a continuous process and it should be done regularly, as a number of government employees retire every month and create vacancies.” He added that staying the mega-recruitment drive was not the correct decision.