Pawar Urges Centre To Raise The 50% Cap On Reservations Amid Renewed Demands For Maratha Quota

Sharad Pawar stressed ensuring equality among OBC and other communities as he urged the Indian government to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations.

File Photo of former Maharashtra chief minister Sharad Pawar, the President of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ( Image Source :PTI )

Former Maharashtra chief minister Sharad Pawar, the President of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has urged the Indian government to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations and increase it by 15-16 per cent to accommodate more communities. This demand comes in the midst of renewed demand for the Maratha reservation in Maharashtra. Speaking at a news conference, Pawar expressed his party's willingness to support a women's reservation bill if introduced by the Centre in a special parliamentary session scheduled from September 18 to 22.

"Some people argue that extending the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota to more communities would be unjust to those already included in the OBC quota. This issue cannot be ignored," Pawar stated in response to questions about accommodating Marathas within the existing OBC quota, news agency PTI reported.

He emphasised the necessity of ensuring equality among OBC and other communities.

The remark comes as Maharashtra is witnessing protests by the Maratha community, who are demanding reservations in government jobs and educational institutions.

The Maratha reservation issue recently regained prominence when the police resorted to baton-charging and tear gas to disperse a mob in the Antarwali Sarathi village in Jalna district. The protesters are accused of obstructing authorities from transferring Maratha agitation leader Manoj Jarange Patil on a hunger strike to the hospital.

Pawar called upon the government to clarify who issued the orders for the baton charge on the protesters, PTI reported. The violence resulted in several injuries, including 40 police personnel, and the torching of more than 15 state transport buses in Jalna.

Pawar On I.N.D.I.A Alliance Meeting Tomorrow, 'One Nation, One Election' Panel

Notably, Pawar disclosed that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has summoned a meeting on Wednesday of all party heads within the I.N.D.I.A alliance, an opposition bloc consisting of 28 parties aiming to challenge the BJP-led Centre in the upcoming general elections.

On the 'One Nation, One Election' proposal, Pawar noted that while the Centre has established a committee led by a former president to examine the issue which has excluded the Leader of the Opposition. "I have not seen the government form a committee led by a former president in years. If the government is genuinely committed to this proposal, the Leader of the Opposition must be included in the panel," he remarked, as quoted by PTI.

Last week, the BJP-led Centre announced the formation of an eight-member committee, chaired by former president Ram Nath Kovind, to expedite recommendations on the issue of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities, and panchayats. The committee includes Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, and former Finance Commission chairman N K Singh as members. However, Chowdhury has declined to be part of the committee.

Pawar critiqued the panel composition, stating, "Today, Mallikarjun Kharge is the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, but he was not included in the panel. In Lok Sabha, there is a leader of the party (Chowdhury), but he was included in the panel. This appears to be an attempt to divert attention from pressing issues facing the country."

Pawar also addressed the drought-like conditions in various parts of Maharashtra, highlighting the need for measures such as cattle fodder provision, access to drinking water, crop preservation efforts, financial assistance to farmers, and the suspension of state levies by the government.

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