"I resigned as minister last November; kept quiet because...": Maharashtra MLA Chhagan Bhujbal
Ahmednagar, Feb 3: Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who has accused the state government of facilitating the backdoor entry of the Maratha community into the OBC quota, on Saturday disclosed that he had tendered his resignation from the state cabinet last November.
Addressing a rally here, Bhujbal, who belongs to the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP, reiterated that he was not opposed to Marathas getting the reservation but is against sharing the existing OBC quota.
"Many leaders from the Opposition, even leaders from my government say that I should resign. Someone said Bhujbal should be sacked from the Cabinet.
"I want to tell leaders from the Opposition, government, and my party that ahead of the OBC Elgar rally held in Ambad on November 17, I resigned from the cabinet on November 16 and then went to attend that event," he said.
Bhujbal further said he kept quiet for more than two months because the chief minister and the Dy CM asked him not to speak about it.
"There is no need for sacking. I have tendered my resignation. I will fight for the OBC till the end," the senior Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader added.
Bhujbal's remarks come against the backdrop of demand from some sections demanding his resignation as Food and Civil Supplies minister as he has been criticising the state government over its handling of Maratha quota demand.
He had accused the government of pandering to the demands of Maratha quota leader Manoj Jarange.
A Shiv Sena MLA MLA from the Eknath Shinde camp had said that Bhujbal should be sacked for trying to create a rift in society.
"We do not oppose the reservation to the Maratha community, but give it to them separately. Do not give it under our (OBC) quota. But they (Manoj Jarange) say give it from the OBC quota," Bhujbal added.
He alleged the process of gathering data to determine the Maratha community's backwardness through a survey by the state backward classes commission is flawed.
"While OBCs constitute 54-60% of the state population, SC/STs 20%, and Brahmins 3%, yet all MLAs and MPs are scared of losing Maratha votes," he said.
Bhujbal claimed OBC MLAs don't even help in funding rallies let alone participating.
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Chadha, others wouldn't have left AAP had it followed 'right' path: Anna Hazare
Mumbai (PTI): Social activist Anna Hazare has said Raghav Chadha and six other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha members would not have quit the party had it followed the "right" path.
"Everyone has the right to hold an opinion in a democracy. They (Chadha and others) must have faced some trouble, which is why they left," Hazare told reporters on Friday in Ahilyanagar district of Maharashtra.
AAP Rajya Sabha members Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak addressed a joint press conference in Delhi on Friday, announcing their exit from the Arvind Kejriwal-led party to join the BJP.
Chadha claimed that nearly two-thirds of AAP's Rajya Sabha members had quit the party and would function as a separate faction.
"It is their (AAP leadership’s) fault. Had that party followed the right way, they would not have left," Hazare said.
Hazare reiterated that Chadha and others must have faced difficulties within AAP, and that is why they left. "Had the party gone in the right direction, they would not have quit the party," he added.
"There must be some or the other reason (for their leaving AAP). In a democracy, every person has a view about where to stay and leave," Hazare said.
The Chadha-led exodus marks a significant setback for the Kejriwal-led party since its formation in 2012, which followed the momentum of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement.
