India News | Maha: Maratha Outfit Seeks Minister Wadettiwar's Resignation
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Pune/ A Maratha outfit on Monday accused Maharashtra Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar of being "discriminatory" against a non-profit government company working for the cause of Marathas and OBCs, and demanded his resignation.
Pune/Nagpur, Jul 6 (PTI) A Maratha outfit on Monday accused Maharashtra Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar of being "discriminatory" against a non-profit government company working for the cause of Marathas and OBCs, and demanded his resignation.
Stung by the allegations, Wadettiwar said he will request chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to relieve him of the responsibility of SARTHI.
Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research Training and Human Development Institute (SARTHI) is a non-profit government company for research, policy advocacy, training etc. for socio-economic and education development of Maratha, Maratha- Kunbi, Kunbi-Maratha, Kunbi communities and the families dependent of agriculture.
Addressing a press conference in Pune, Rajendra Kondhre, one of the conveyors of the Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM), said efforts are on to remove autonomy of SARTHI.
"In a press conference on July 2, Wadettiwar said the state will keep the autonomy of SARTHI intact and more funds will be given. He has been saying this for the last six months. But in reality, his actions are opposite as there are efforts to remove the autonomy of the SARTHI. His approach towards the SARTHI is discriminatory," alleged Kondhre.
He said stipends of students from the Maratha community who are preparing for civil services are not given and no new scheme started.
"The director board (of SARTHI) which consists of IAS officers is just for namesake and there are attempts to close down the ongoing schemes," he alleged.
Earlier this year, an agitation was held under the leadership of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje for keeping autonomy of SARTHI intact, he said.
Cabinet minister Eknath Shinde had met the agitators and promised to fulfil their demands, he recalled.
The MKM had been at the forefront of the agitations held for the cause of Maratha reservation in government jobs and education.
"Despite doing several agitations to save SARTHI, its wheels are stuck for which Wadettiwar and his department are responsible. We demand his resignation. SARTHI department should also be withdrawn from Wadettiwar and be given to some other minister," he demanded.
Meanwhile, Wadettiwar said in Nagpur that he would request the CM to relieve him of the charge of SARTHI.
"I have been working honestly for SARTHI's cause. They (MKM) might be thinking that I am an OBC leader and might be working against the cause of Marathas.
"If they want my resignation, I will myself keep away from SARTHI and will request the CM to relieve me from the responsibility of SARTHI and give it to some other minister," Wadettiwar told reporters.
He dismissed the allegations levelled against him by the MKM as "baseless".
"Anyway I don't have any rights in (operation of) SARTHI. Neither there is any relevance of my signature nor am I a member of the decision making body," he said.
Wadettiwar said the proposals of the board of directors of SARTHI are placed directly before the state Cabinet, and that no issue is pending with him.
"If they are not satisfied with my work then I am taking a decision to move away," he said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)