Leaders should not play Marathas off against OBCs: BJP leader Narayan Rane

Union minister Narayan Rane on Thursday said that political leaders should not pit the Marathas and Other Backward Classes OBCs against each other reported the PTINo political leader should play the Marathas off against OBCs BJP leader Narayan Rane said when asked by the reporters in Pune about Chhagan Bhujbals stand according to the PTIWhen I was heading a committee on Maratha reservation I had given recommended 16 percent reservation I did not touch the OBC quota Marathas should get reservation as there are poor people in the community the former chief minister said as per the PTIMaratha quota activist Manoj Jarange is still young and should study how reservation is granted to any community under the Constitution Narayan Rane saidMarathas will not take quota from the OBCs in the OBC category he addedThe Ajit Pawarled Nationalist Congress Party NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal had recently received flak for saying that the existing OBC quota should not be touched while granting reservation to the MarathasMeanwhileMaharashtra Cabinet minister and OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Tuesday said that he was not against any community but asserted a social group has to fight to protect its rights reported the PTIThe comments comes in the backdrop of the ongoing agitation by the Marathas for reservation in government jobs and education as per the PTIChhagan Bhujbal who has strongly opposed the demand to include the Marathas in the other backward classes OBC category for quota benefits said a new social system is taking shape in Maharashtra which is different from the order envisaged by prominent social reformersThe Maharashtra food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal was speaking at an award ceremony organised by his outfit Samta Parishad at Phule WadaMahatma Phule Babasaheb Ambedkar Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj worked tirelessly to end the caste system and bring equality in society But as I said a new kind of social order is coming up in the state You know what I mean I will not reiterate That past social order was different and todays social order is different Nowadays things like eligibility layaki and higher lower status are being discussed he said taking potshots at Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange over his recent remarks according to the PTIManoj Jarange spearheading the latest round of agitation seeking reservation for the Marathas in government jobs and education said at a recent rally in Pune that in the absence of quota his communitys youths have no option but to work under undeserving people He later withdrew the comments which invited strong criticism from OBC leaderswith PTI inputs