Amid claims by Other Backward Class (OBC) leader and Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal that he had reportedly resigned from the State Cabinet last November over the Maratha quota issue, Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said that Mr. Bhujbal’s resignation had not been accepted.
Mr. Bhujbal, who is at loggerheads with Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, had made the sensational claim of his alleged resignation at an OBC rally held in Ahmednagar on Saturday.
However, soon after Mr. Bhujbal’s revelation, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis clarified that his resignation had not been accepted.
“While Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be able to clarify on this matter, I can only say that Mr. Bhujbal’s resignation had not been accepted,” Mr. Fadnavis told reporters late Saturday.
Mr. Bhujbal, a senior leader of the ruling Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction, further claimed he had kept quiet for more than two months because Mr. Shinde and the Deputy CMs (Mr. Fadnavis and Mr. Pawar) had reportedly told him not to speak publicly about his resignation.
“Many leaders from the Opposition, even leaders from my government say I should resign. Someone even said Bhujbal should be sacked from the Cabinet. I want to tell all of them and my party members that I had resigned from the Cabinet on November 16 ahead of the OBC rally held in Ambad [in Jalna district] the next day. I had then gone to attend that event,” said the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) leader.
Mr. Bhujbal reiterated that he was not opposed to Marathas getting reservation but was against them gaining ‘back-door entry’ though inclusion under the Kunbi OBC category. He has repeatedly accused the Shinde government of kowtowing to every demand made by Mr. Jarange-Patil at the expense of safeguarding OBC reservation.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said Mr. Bhujbal’s disclosure about his alleged resignation was absurd.
“Mr. Bhujbal claims he resigned from the Cabinet last year itself, but that he kept on attending subsequent meetings of the Council of Ministers. It is said that Devendra Fadnavis is behind Bhujbal’s outbursts against the Maratha quota agitation led by Jarange-Patil. Both [Mr. Fadnavis and Mr. Bhujbal] are hand in glove. They are playing this resignation game of ‘you resign and we will not accept it’,” said Mr. Raut.
