NCP (SP) Chief Sharad Pawar.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Jalna: Former Maharashtra minister and BJP MLA Babanrao Lonikar has accused NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar of deceiving the Maratha community on the issue of reservation.
Speaking at a party workers' meeting at Partur in Jalna district on Wednesday, he also called Pawar as 'Shakuni mama', a reference to the Mahabharata character usually perceived as being wicked and shrewd.
"Sharad Pawar has deceived the Maratha community by not granting reservation to it. In 2018, the BJP government had given reservation to this community, but it could not sustain in the Supreme Court. As asked by Sharad Pawar, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray hired senior lawyer Kapil Sibal to fight the case in the apex court. But Sibal's involvement led to the government facing rejection in the case," Lonikar said.
In 2021, the Supreme Court struck down Maharashtra's Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018, which granted reservation to the Maratha community, citing violations of the 50 per cent limit on reservation.
At present, Maratha activist Manoj Jarange has been vociferously demanding quota for his community by inclusion in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.