Amid the ongoing reservation row in Maharashtra, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar on Saturday alleged his counterpart in the Legislative Council and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve has a Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificate despite being a Maratha.
Wadettiwar's Congress party and Shiv Sena (UBT), to which Danve belongs, are allies both in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and in the opposition bloc called the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). In recent weeks, various groups and organizations have been staging protests, advocating that Marathas should not be categorized under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) for the purpose of reservation.
Speaking to reporters here, the Congress leader alleged around 28 lakh people in Marathwada were secretly given OBC caste certificates for money. Reacting to the allegation, Danve, however, clarified he does not have an OBC caste certificate and demanded Wadettiwar produce proof. All the allegations against me are completely false. If he (Wadettiwar) has such information, then he should present proof in front of everybody. It will bring the facts to the fore, Danve said in a release.
Wadettiwar should first get the exact information before levelling such allegations, Danve added. Asserting he is a proud Shiv Sainik, Danve said, I am not a leader of any caste and have never taken benefit of any reserved post. I have been selected from the open category' right from the time I became a corporator to being the leader of opposition in the Council, Danve said.
Addressing a press conference, Wadettiwar also termed the Eknath Shinde government as worthless for being unable to give even Rs 2,000 to beneficiaries of various welfare schemes. These worthless people have not distributed Niradhar Yojana money to beneficiaries for the last five months. It is a worthless government. These people do not have funds to give Rs 2,000 to beneficiaries of Sanjay Gandhi Yojana, Shraavanbal Yojana, and pay Anganwadi Sevikas and ASHA workers, the Congress leader claimed.
Wadettiwar questioned how Other Backward Classes leaders were content with the government's oral assurance about reservations and not giving OBC certificates to Marathas. The OBC community should ask the government why it was doing this drama of holding meetings to discuss the issue of reservations, Wadettiwar said.