Union Minister Ramdas Athawale.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Mumbai: A day after Raj Thackeray made 'anti-reservation' remarks, drawing flak from various political strata, veteran Dalit leader Ramdas Athawale, who is a minister in the Narendra Modi cabinet at the Centre, also slammed the MNS President on Tuesday.
The Union Minister of State for Social Justice asked Thackeray to withdraw the remarks or else Dalits and backward classes will boycott MNS candidates in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.
"If he doesn't withdraw his remarks, Dalits, Adivasis, and OBCs should boycott MNS candidates in the Assembly polls,” said Athawale.
Thackeray, on Monday, had said, “My position is that locals should be given priority in job opportunities. Why should caste be a factor in this? If the private sector continues to create jobs, we should think about how many people will actually benefit from reservation in government jobs."
Later, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi founder Prakash Ambedkar, who is the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Shivba Sanghatana founder Manoj Jarange-Patil and OBC Sangharsh Sena chief Prof Laxman Hake bit out at the MNS chief and questioned his knowledge about the reservation.