Prithviraj Chavan meets Jarange, says Maharashtra govt must take decision on quota now

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Aug 22 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday met Maratha activist Manoj Jarange in Jalna and said the Eknath Shinde government must take a decision on quota demands of the community soon.

It was a courtesy meeting to inquire about Jarange's health as he had come to Satara some days ago and had fallen ill, former chief minister Chavan said.

"I wanted to meet him in Satara but could not as he left early. So I have come here to Antarwali Sarati. He has been agitating for the Maratha community. I asked about his health. He is leading a selfless agitation," Chavan said.

"While the Mandal Commission and Kaka Kalelkar Commission did not consider the Marathas as backward, the community is part of the Other Backward Classes segment in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. So we (Congress-NCP government) decided to give them 16 per cent reservation," Chavan said.

"We asked the state OBC commission to find out the ground reality about the community's backwardness but it refused claiming the community does not need quota. Landless labourers and those with small plots are in distress and finding it tough to spend on education. If they get reservations, they will have some hope of getting government jobs," the Congress leader added.

Chavan said the reservation given to the Maratha and Muslim communities by the Congress-NCP government in July 2014 was not taken forward by the next government (of the BJP-Shiv Sena under Devendra Fadnavis).

"We attended two meetings called by the chief minister on the quota issue. But being in government, they must take a decision now," he asserted. PTI AW BNM