Nana Patole, the Maharashtra Congress chief, has strongly criticized Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis regarding the contentious issue of quotas for the Maratha community and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Patole made a plea to the people not to resort to extreme measures, such as suicide, as a form of protest. This statement came in the wake of a Maratha quota activist, Sunil Kawale, allegedly taking his own life in Bandra, Mumbai.
Sunil Kawale, a resident of Chikangaon in Ambad tehsil of Jalna district, was discovered hanging from pole number 4 of a flyover situated between Bandra and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in western Mumbai. A note found nearby urged the government to grant reservations for the Maratha community and called for community members to gather in Mumbai on October 24 to continue their fight for these reservations.
Hitting out at the state government, Patole said, “Devendra Fadnavis takes one stand in front of the OBCs and says something else in front of the Maratha community. The Bharatiya Janata Party does not want to give reservations to anyone. It wants to end all quotas. Only the Congress can solve the issue of reservation.” Terming Kawale’s death as extremely sad and unfortunate, Patole said no one should take an extreme step like suicide on the issue of quotas.
“The BJP is misleading people since 2014 with false promises. Despite the party being in power at the Centre and in Maharashtra, it has only made empty promises about reservation. If the quota issue has to be solved, then the 50 per cent ceiling has to be removed. The Congress strongly seeks a caste census to solve this issue,” Patole said.