Amid Maratha quota stir, Chairperson of Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission resigns
The Hindu
Justice (retd) Nirgude's resignation from Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission due to alleged governmental interference sparks criticism from Opposition. MVA leader Wadettiwar accuses government of trying to "throttle voices of OBCs" and Sena leader Danve of trying to show Commission in bad light. Jarange Patil continues verbal sabre-rattling, adamant on Dec 24 deadline for Maratha quota.
Amid the raging Maratha quota stir, the chairperson of the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission Justice (retired) Anand Nirgude has resigned from his post, prompting the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to decry governmental interference in the working of the Commission that was tasked to look into the socio-economic backwardness of the Maratha community.
According to sources, Justice (retired) Nirgude had submitted his resignation to the Eknath Shinde-led government on December 4, alleging strong governmental interference in the functioning of the Commission. His resignation was accepted on December 9.
There had been intense speculation of Mr. Nirgude quitting since the past week. The ten-member State Backward Class Commission had witnessed a spate of resignations recently, with four of its Other Backward Class (OBC) members earlier quitting on grounds that the Commission was under ‘pressure’ from some Ministers and bureaucrats in the State government.
Sources said that the Eknath Shinde government was likely to constitute a fresh Commission following Justice (retired) Nirgude’s resignation, which could consist of more members from the Maratha community in a bid to help expedite the process of granting a quota to the Marathas.
Criticising the Shinde government for failing to inform the Legislative Assembly of Mr. Nirgude’s resignation, Maharashtra Leader of Opposition (in the Legislative Assembly) and Congressman Vijay Wadettiwar accused it of trying to “throttle voices of the OBCs”.
Mr. Wadettiwar, a prominent OBC leader from Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, said, “The present State Backward Class Commission had been constituted during the time of the MVA government. The Shinde government is bringing pressure to bear on some OBC members in this commission. Why is it trying to throttle voices of the OBCs in this manner? Why did the government hide the date of Mr. Nirgude’s resignation? What was the motive behind this?”
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction leader Ambadas Danve (Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council) alleged that some members in the government were trying to deliberately show the Commission in a bad light by trying to prove that it was not interested in working towards Maratha reservation.