‘Don’t Sacrifice OBC Lives for Elections,’ Warns Minister Chhagan Bhujbal in Pune
Pune, 23rd June 2024: To meet hunger striker Adv Mangesh Sasane, a delegation of the Maharashtra State Government visited Pune District. The delegation included Girish Mahajan, the Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj; Chhagan Bhujbal, the Minister of Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Protection; Uday Samant, the Minister of Industries; Dhananjay Munde, the Minister of Agriculture; MLAs Gopichand Padalkar and Prakash Shendge; and former MP Samir Bhujbal. The delegation, representing the Maharashtra State Government, requested Adv Sasane to end his hunger strike. Bhujbal handed Sasane a letter from the Maharashtra Government, and Sasane agreed to end his hunger strike.
OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal said, “As the elections are coming up, some speak from either the OBC community or the Maratha community side. But elections will come and go. OBC reservation, however, is a question of the next generation. Due to the Mandal Commission, we got this reservation. So just for the sake of elections, don’t take the OBCs’ lives. This fight is not over. This fight is not easy, and we have to keep on fighting for a long time. We haven’t stopped this protest and won’t stop. We have just paused it for some time. If we see things happening against us, we will protest again. Due to Kunbi certificates, we are being pushed out. We are being blocked from all sides. Are we demanding anyone else’s reservation? Give them reservations independently. Whatever we are given, keep it as it is. Our reservation quota is not even full, and meanwhile, there are entries from the back doors. This should stop.”
Minister Girish Mahajan said, “There is a rift being created in the community, which is not good for the state. To solve this, the government is working. There is confusion in the OBC community about whether their reservation will be affected. But the government is trying to find a solution where no injustice will be done to either the Marathas or the OBCs.”
