MUMBAI: A Shiv Sena (UBT) delegation led by MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday met President Droupadi Murmu over the ongoing protests over the Maratha and Dhangar community’s demands for reservations, seeking an all inclusive reservation policy.
Raut said the Sena (UBT) has requested the President to direct the centre to amend the constitution in the upcoming winter session of Parliament or by calling a special session and increase the reservation beyond the current 50% cap. Apart from Raut, Sena (UBT) MP Vinayak Raut, MP Arvind Sawant legislators Anil Parab, Ambadas Danve, Ajay Chaudhary and Sunil Prabhu among other leaders were part of the delegation. Raut said that the issue of Martha reservation can’t be solved by the state government and it was up to the centre to resolve it.
"The atmosphere in Maharashtra due to the Maratha reservation issue is worrying, there is a gang war going on in the state cabinet itself. Ministers are challenging each other on public platforms. Maratha reservation is there, but other communities too have issues, so we met President Murmu with a request for an all inclusive reservation policy. Based on the constitution, there can’t be more than 50% reservation, this is a constitutional provision. So without disturbing another community’s reservation like OBC, tribals and others, Marathas and Dhangars reservation can be given by amending the constitution and increasing the reservation cap,” Raut said after the meeting in New Delhi.
"This is not in the hands of the state government, but with the centre and Parliament. So a special session of the Parliament must be called or in the winter session which is going to start, constitutional amendment must be made and the reservation issue must be resolved, in Maharashtra. We have requested the President, she also took information from us and understood the subject,” Raut said.
Raut said that President Murmu assured them that she will look into the matter. “She told us that she will try to find a solution to the issue and we are sure that President Murmu, who herself is from such a community, knows the importance of reservation and knows what economic backwardness is. So we discussed the issue with us,” Raut said.
