Girish Mahajan Criticizes Sharad Pawar, Defends Maratha Reservation Policies Amid Rising Tensions

Pune, 19th June 2024: Since last year, Maratha Reservation Activist Manoj Jarange Patil has been protesting for Maratha reservation through multiple hunger strikes. Now, OBC leader Laxman Hake is on a hunger strike. Against this background, the political atmosphere in Maharashtra has heated up as both communities, Marathas and OBCs, are accusing each other. Amid this, Bharatiya Janata Party Leader and Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department of Maharashtra, Girish Mahajan, is on a tour in Pune. While speaking to the media, Mahajan made multiple statements regarding the current political situation in Maharashtra.

When asked if the government was unsuccessful in addressing Jarange Patil’s demands, Girish Mahajan criticized veteran leader Sharad Pawar, saying, “Regarding the Maratha reservation, the Maharashtra State Government did everything it could. The Maratha community was given reservation by the then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Did anyone try to give Marathas a reservation in the last 50 years? Sharad Pawar had said, ‘What’s the need for reservation for the Marathas?’ These are the words of Sharad Pawar.”

Mahajan continued, “We are with the Maratha community; our goal is to provide them with a reservation without affecting the OBC reservation. But if Jarange Patil is not satisfied, what can we do? He says, ‘Give reservation to the sage soyare (relatives from the family tree),’ but it won’t survive in court. As far as I know, this type of reservation cannot be given. But if something similar can be done, the government would do it.”

Supriya Sule had said that the BJP had started a fight between Marathas and OBCs. In response, Mahajan stated, “Everyone can see that political maneuvering is at play here. Supriya Sule knows how these protests started. Regarding the current situation, I would say, let’s not make statements that will further fuel tensions between the two communities.”