Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Friday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, accusing it of lacking the political will to grant Maratha reservation.
In a press conference at Tilak Bhavan in Mumbai, Sapkal said, “Granting Maratha reservation requires political will, and the BJP and Devendra Fadnavis do not have it. This is not a new demand; it has been pending for years. The reservation was lost in the Supreme Court because the BJP and the Fadnavis government failed to submit empirical data. What happened to Devendra Fadnavis’ claim that he would grant Maratha quota within seven days if given power?”
He alleged that the BJP government was trying to create divisions between the Maratha and the Other Backward Communities (OBC) communities in the name of reservation.
Congress leaders, including Members of Parliament (MPs) Shahu Chhatrapati and Dr Kalyan Kale were also present at the press meet.
Sapkal said the state government had ignored the Maratha community’s announcement three months ago, when it had stated that it would launch an agitation in Mumbai.
“Now the government is obstructing the agitation. First, it denied permission and later gave approval for just one day. The disruption in Mumbai today is the government’s responsibility. The administration cannot malign Maratha protesters for this. The government slept for three months and is now blaming the agitators,” Sapkal said.
He also criticised Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for failing to keep his promise. “Shinde had met Maratha protestors at Navi Mumbai, bowed before Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue, and vowed to issue a GR. Protesters trusted him and returned to their villages. What happened to that promise? If Shinde cannot honour his word, he should step down from power,” he said.
Sapkal urged the state leadership to press the Centre to lift the 50 per cent cap on reservations and demanded a caste-based census.
“Rahul Gandhi has consistently demanded caste census. While BJP initially opposed it, they later announced it but are yet to implement it. Congress-ruled states like Telangana and Karnataka have already carried it out. If needed, we will invite the Telangana Chief Minister to guide Maharashtra on conducting a caste census,” he added.
He said that the Congress-led government had granted Maratha reservation earlier, which the current Devendra Fadnavis government failed to sustain.
“The Congress supported Maratha reservation then and continues to do so now. This is not just a political issue but one of social justice. The ruling BJP alliance must decide. If the Chief Minister cannot grant reservation, he should step aside, and we will resolve the issue,” said Sapkal.
