Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Gopichand Padalkar, the Dhangar face of the party, has condemned the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community’s sloganeering and attempt to throw shoes at him in Indapur, urging for peace. While the Dhangars want to be included in the Scheduled Tribes (ST), Marathas are demanding reservation, for which the state is looking at including them in the Kunbi category of the OBC. The OBC community, meanwhile, is fighting to keep their reservation intact.
“After the Indapur meeting last Saturday, this type of (shoe-throwing) gimmick happened when I was going to visit a farmers’ agitation for milk prices. These cowards gave interviews in the media and said that the incident was done by their supporters. This is ridiculous,” Padalkar said.
Padalkar, in a video statement issued by his office, has appealed to the OBC brothers not to protest through violence. “Peace should be maintained in the state. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar has given reservation to the Dhangar community. For its proper implementation, we want to hold a warning march in the upcoming winter session in Nagpur on December 11,” he added.
Cabinet minister and senior OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal also condemned the shoe-throwing incident. Bhujbal posted on the microblogging website ‘X’, “We are not against reservation to Maratha community, but the way Padalkar was attacked is not right. If such behaviour doesn’t stop, we will have to give an answer in the same language.”
Padalkar clarified that he is not against the Maratha community’s demand for reservation. However, poor Marathas deserve it more. “The sociopaths who entered the Maratha reservation battle sometimes burn someone’s house and sometimes call someone and abuse them. From this, it is clear that the intention of the anti-social elements is not to get reservation but to spread unrest in the society,” he said.
This fight between two communities has become a big issue for the ‘Mahayuti’ government. While Marathas are adamant on their stand for reservation, the government feels giving them reservation under the ‘Kunbi’ caste, which falls under the OBC, is the safest and best option as of now.
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