Oppn will cooperate with Centre if....: Pawar on quota cap removal

Amid the Maratha-Other Backward Class quota tussle in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Prasad leader Sharad Pawar on Monday said the Opposition will cooperate if the Centre brings a policy to remove the Supreme Court-mandated 50 percent quota ceiling on reservations.

At the state level, Pawar appealed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the quota dispute.

Pawar's call for collective discussion comes a day after he faced the ire of Maratha protesters who stopped his SUV in Solapur district and asked him to clear his stand on the quota issue.

On Monday, a delegation led by Maratha Kranti Thok Morcha leader Ramesh Kere Patil called upon the NCP-SP chief at his residence in Pune.

It sought to know Pawar's stand on the community's demand for the reservation in government jobs and education.

"There is an obstacle (on increasing reservation ambit) as the Supreme Court had ruled that the 50 percent quota ceiling cannot be breached while granting reservations. The onus is on the Centre to draft an appropriate policy," Pawar told reporters after Kere Patil met him and submitted a memorandum.

The Centre's policy needs to change, and if it takes the initiative, the Opposition will cooperate, said Pawar, one of the tallest leaders of the INDIA bloc.

Pawar said he met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde recently and suggested convening a meeting of all political parties to resolve the (quota) issue.

"He (Shinde) should invite leaders he feels appropriate, and we, as an opposition, will also attend and cooperate," Pawar said, adding that quota activist Manoj Jarange and OBC leaders, including state minister Chhagan Bhujbal, should be invited for the meeting.

Pawar on Sunday faced angry Maratha protesters who stopped his SUV in Solapur district seeking to know his stand on the quota issue. Separately, Pawar was heckled at a rally in Barshi town where slogans were raised supporting the Maratha quota and Manoj Jarange and black flags were waved.

Reacting to the meeting between Kere Patil and Pawar, quota activist Jarange alleged Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other leaders of the BJP were trying to project a rift in the Maratha community.

He dubbed Kere Patil's meeting with Pawar a "trap" to divide Marathas.

"Fadnavis is dreaming to create a rift in the Maratha community, however, his dream will never become a reality," Jarange told reporters in Pune.

BJP leaders (Pravin) Darekar and Fadnavis are trying to project Marathas as a divided community on the reservation issue, Jarange alleged.

Speaking to reporters, Kere Patil claimed Pawar explained NCP-SP's position and favoured the grant of reservation to Marathas without disturbing the OBC quota.

"Pawar saheb claimed if the Maratha community gets reservation under the OBC quota, members of other communities will get disappointed," he said.

Pawar, however, denied making such a statement during his meeting with Kere Patil.

Jarange has been leading protests demanding OBC certificates for recognising all Kunbis (agriculturists) and their “sage soyre” (blood relatives) as Marathas.

In February, the Maharashtra legislature passed a bill allotting 10 percent reservation to the Maratha community in education and government jobs.

Jarange, however, insists inclusion of Marathas in the OBC category.