Ashok Chavan said Congress will hit streets over quota for Muslims, Marathas.
Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan alleged on Friday that the BJP-led government was not serious about the quota issue and said his party will take to the streets in support of reservation for Muslims and Marathas. "The present BJP government is against reservation since it takes orders from the RSS. BJP state chief Raosaheb Danve has made it clear that his party is against reservation on the basis of religion," Chavan claimed.
"The previous government had given five per cent reservation to Muslims not on the basis of religion, but their backwardness. The BJP-Sena government deliberately allowed the Ordinance to lapse. In the last one-and-half years, they have just assured that a new law will be brought, but their assurance is only on paper. This shows they are not serious," he said, referring to BJP's support to Maratha reservation.
A resolution seeking to provide reservation to the Maratha community was adopted on Thursday at BJP's state executive meeting in Mumbai. However, asked about reservation for Muslims, Danve had said there was no provision for quota on the basis of religion.
Chavan said although Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeals that Muslims should not be considered as a votebank and should be treated equally, the state government denies their rightful reservation to the community. The government is not serious in providing reservation to Marathas and this has been evident in last two years. The government did not take cognisance of the Maratha morchas organised all over the state, he claimed.
"Anger against the state government was seen during the silent morchas. The resolution on Maratha reservation was passed in the BJP state executive fearing backlash in the ensuing elections. Had the government been serious, the decision would have been taken long ago as the same party is in power in Maharashtra and Centre," he said.
The resolution in the state executive was "all drama", the former Maharashtra Chief Minister alleged. "The governments in the state and the Centre function on RSS ideology, which is against reservation. "The RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has made his views known on the issue. Just like it has denied Muslims their reservation, they are doing the same with the Marathas," he charged.
The Congress leader said his party will implement the reservations for Marathas and Muslims if it comes to power. "But the party will take to the streets to demand that the reservations be implemented immediately. If the government does not budge, people will teach them a lesson," he charged.
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