Narendra Modi-led government can provide quota to Dhangars, not state: Haribhau Rathod

Haribhau Rathod, a member of Maharashtra Legislative Council, today said the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre alone could provide reservations to the Dhangar and Banjara communities and pressurising the Maharashtra government was futile. "There is no point in trying to pressurise the state government. The reservation bill is pending at the level of the Central government," Rathod said, speaking to reporters.

The former MP added that the Bill was first tabled in the Parliament in 1980, but got stuck. "When the bill was tabled in 1980, some MPs opposed it. A JPC was then formed which toured the entire country and finally recommended to the government that the communities should be provided reservations," he said.

Now it was the responsibility of the Modi government to ensure that the recommendation was implemented and bill passed, Rathod added. "We will be organising a massive rally in Mumbai on August 11 and invite representatives from various such communities from across India to intensify agitation over demands for the backward classes from the Modi government," he said.