Mumbai: Days after NC (SP) chief Sharad Pawar came out of hibernation on the blazing issue of reservation for the Maratha quota and finally met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to discuss the finer points, on Saturday at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar he held a media interaction and expressed concerns over the widening rift among communities, especially the Marathas and the Vanjaris.
Within hours of the presser after releasing a book at a university, Pawar spoke in Mumbai at a programme organised by a leading Marathi news channel and said there’s an uneasy situation in Jalna and Beed districts and he will soon go on a tour to speak to the locals in the Marathwada region. “I heard that people from one community are not ready to have tea from the hotels run by the other. I have never heard of this before in Maharashtra. This needs to be changed by creating an atmosphere of mutual trust with dialogue,” he said.
Pawar’s statement comes in the backdrop of a reported stalemate among Marathas and Vanjari communities especially after the Lok Sabha polls. A bitter electoral battle was fought between Pawar’s candidate Bajrang Sonawane and BJP’s Pankja Munde, in which the former emerged victorious.
Pawar said, “The government should go for enhanced dialogue with the stakeholders from the communities currently involved in this issue.” Referring to the missing points, Pawar said while the chief minister talks with one set of people, others in the government hold talks with other groups. “This creates misunderstanding/ I have in my recent meeting with the CM shared this feedback,” he said.
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Since the issue of reservation began raging, Pawar has been criticised for not just skirting the issue but has also been blamed by politicians for firing the quota issue from the shoulders of Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil. On Saturday, though, Pawar said that the government should call Jarange-Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal and others committed to OBC reservation for talks.
The current standoff is over Jarange-Patil’s demand for the implementation of the draft notification that recognises Kunbis as ‘sage soyare’ (blood relatives) of Marathas and reservation to the latter under the OBC category. Kunbis get quota benefits as OBCs, but the OBC leaders are firm over their demand that their quota should not be diluted.
“Jarange-Patil has said that reservation should also be given to Lingayats, Muslims and the Dhangar community. The process for talks over quota seems to have begun in the right direction. If this is done, there will be no bitterness in society,” said Pawar.
When asked about seat-sharing in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, Pawar said that the alliance partners have suggested a few names for discussion. “It has been agreed that the decision over seat-sharing will be taken unanimously,” he said. “I have also said that the Left parties that did not demand a single seat in the last Lok Sabha elections should also be given a share in the upcoming assembly polls. The seat-sharing talks will take place after the current session of Parliament,” Pawar added.
