Mumbai:
The Maharashtra government will hold a special one-day Vidhan Sabha session on Tuesday to discuss the Maratha reservation issue.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday emphasized that reservation for Marathas will be given as per the terms of the law after presenting the report at the special meeting scheduled to take place on February 20.
“The survey was conducted among almost 2 to 2.5 million people. Please note that the OBC community will not be left behind in the process and the government will submit the report to the Cabinet Committee. On February 20, we have called for a special session of the Assembly after which Maratha reservation will be given as per the terms of the law…,” Prime Minister Shinde said.
The decision to hold the hearing was taken during the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
“The cabinet meeting has given the signal to convene a one-day special session of the legislature on Tuesday, February 20, to discuss the various demands of the Maratha community,” said a note from the chief minister's office.
The decision to convene a special session was prompted by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who is on hunger strike in Antarwali Saarati village of Jalna district.
After the Maha Vikas Aghadi meeting, Congress leader Nana Patole said the Maharashtra Assembly session would begin on Monday, adding that the meeting was held to form a strategy for the session.
“The session of the Maharashtra Assembly will begin tomorrow. The system is that they have to call the opposition to BAC and discuss the proceedings of the House. However, the BJP government in the state is unwilling to follow the constitutional process. So we came together to form a strategy for the session,” Mr Patole told ANI.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra's political scenario is volatile as Sharad Pawar lost his party name and symbol.
Veteran politician Sharad Pawar said on Saturday that the Election Commission's decision to recognize the group led by his cousin Ajit Pawar as the 'real' Nationalist Congress Party was 'not in accordance with the law'.
Sharad Pawar moved the Supreme Court challenging the ECI's decision to officially recognize the Ajit Pawar faction as the real NCP and the use of party symbols.
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the Election Commission of India's (ECI) interim order allowing veteran leader Sharad Pawar to use the 'Nationalist Congress Party – Sharad Chandra Pawar' would remain in force until further notice.
On February 6, the poll panel, while applying the majority test in the legislative wing, ruled that Ajit Pawar's faction was the 'real' NCP and allowed the faction to use the 'bell' symbol for the party.
In its decision, the Election Commission noted that the total number of NCP MLAs in the Maharashtra State Assembly was 81, and of these, Ajit Pawar filed affidavits in support of 57 MLAs, while Sharad Pawar had only 28 affidavits.
The poll panel therefore concluded that the Ajit Pawar faction enjoyed the majority support of the legislators and could lay claim to the NCP.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)