After Pawar rebuke, Fadnavis says ready for talks with Marathas

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, July 25

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said he was willing to hold talks with representatives of the Maratha communities over reservation for them in educational institutions and government jobs.

"The government has taken note of the protests by the Maratha community and has taken several decisions in this regard. We are ready to talk to them. The government had made a law for reservation to the community but that was stayed by Bombay HC,” Fadnavis said in a message on social media.

Till Tuesday, Fadnavis and his ministers said the government could do nothing about quotas for the Maratha community since it was stayed by the Bombay High Court.

The state government's decision not to engage with the community came in for criticism from Nationalist Congress Party chief and Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar. He told reporters on Tuesday that Fadnavis should at least hold talks with the community leaders to help cool down tempers instead of being adamant on not talking to them.

Government sources, however, said no timeline for negotiations have been fixed though Maratha ministers in the Fadnavis cabinet were in touch with community leaders.