State failed in defending Maratha quota in Supreme Court: Fadnavis

Source:-hindustantimes

Former Maharashtra chief minister and Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said that the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government in the state failed in effectively defending Maratha reservation before the Supreme Court. He said that the state government should have focused more on the legal matter and should now take the development as a lesson for future planning. He also said that approaching Chief Justice of India Sharad Bobde to vacate the stay is the only option left before the state.

“Tamil Nadu and our situation is the same. Despite that, while referring to the constitutional bench, the apex court didn’t stay the reservation declared by them but in our case, it was stayed. We need to see where we lacked in explaining the case effectively before the apex court,” Fadnavis said while speaking to reporters in Delhi on Friday.

“The only way left before us is to approach the Chief Justice of India and request him to vacate stay on Maratha reservation as there is no difference between our case and that of Tamil Nadu. The state should also request him to club both the cases,” he added.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Maratha quota in jobs and education while referring it to the constitutional bench. It is being seen as a major setback to the MVA government and the Opposition leaders are blaming the government for that. The state government is also planning to file an appeal against the three-bench judgement.
Responding to former revenue minister and senior leader Eknath Khadse’s allegations that Fadnavis dislodged him from electoral politics as he was the main contender for the post of the chief minister in the state, Fadnavis said Khadse was forced to resign from his position over allegations of purchase of plot of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), a state-run corporation, by one of his family members. The case was filed against him following directives of the Bombay high court.

“There is no need to create confusion among people as Khadse ji was forced to resign in MIDC land purchase case and not in Manish Bhangare case, as he claims. The retired judge who probed the allegations submitted a report to the state but by then, a corruption case was filed against him following directives of the high court. This is also the reason the report could not be tabled before the state legislature. People will know the reality once the report is made public,” Fadnavis clarified.

Fadnavis also said that the matter between him and Khadse will be sorted out by discussion. “Khadse ji is our senior leader and if he is unhappy we will sit together and resolve the issue. After all, it is a family matter,” he said.