Former Justice Chandralal Meshram Removed from State Backward Classes Commission

Pune: Former Judge Chandralal Meshram, a member of the State Backward Classes Commission, has been removed from the post of member of the commission. The state government has taken this action on the grounds of Meshram being unfit to be a member of the commission. Meshram has alleged that he was removed from the post for disapproving of the working of the commission. 

The state government had directed a survey on reservation for the Maratha community. The Commission set the criteria for this, but these criteria led to differences between the chairman of the commission and the members. From that, Prof. Sanjeev Sonawane, Adv. Balaji Sagar Killarikar and Laxman Hake resigned. Later, Chairman Anand Nirgude also tendered his resignation. As a result, the state government had to appoint other members in the wake of the survey. Meanwhile, Chandralal Meshram had also drawn the ire of former judge Sunil Shukre, the current chairman of the commission, for taking an openly opposing stand about the functioning of the commission.

Later, Shukre also issued a show-cause notice to Meshram over his protest over the functioning of the commission's meetings. The state government has removed him from office on the grounds that his reply was not satisfactory. He has been given the reason that he is not fit to be a member of the commission. Meshram said, "I have been removed from the membership only because I opposed the decisions of the commission. The commission's decisions were wrong. The recommendations made on the reservation will not survive in the High Court. Therefore, my stand was that the Backward Classes Commission should not be like the previous Gaikwad Commission. My stand was and continues to be that Marathas should get a sustainable reservation. I am not against giving reservation to the Maratha community," he said.

He further claimed, "The state government wants to win the elections by passing a law on reservation in the session. Therefore, I have expressed the opinion many times in the meeting that the Commission should not get into a political game over such wrong things, which created the impression that I am against it". Meshram also claimed that five members had resigned due to this.