Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Monday said the state government had sought details from its Maharashtra counterparts about its decision to grant reservation benefits to the Maratha community to find out if the Patidar community could be given a quota here.
Rupani, who was on an official visit to Kutch, told reporters there the Gujarat government had asked for the survey reports on the basis of which Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis administration had decided on reservation for the OBC Maratha community in the neighbouring state.
"The state government would examine in detail the Maharashtra survey reports and related data and then decide on reservation for the Patidars in Gujarat," the Chief Minister said.
Taking a cue from the development, young Patidar agitation spearhead Hardik Patel has asked why Gujarat could not give reservations to the Patidars (Patels) if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Maharashtra could do so.
"If reservation is not possible constitutionally in Gujarat, how is it possible in Maharashtra?" Hardik Patel asked, referring to the stated position of the Gujarat Government that quota beyond 50 per cent was not feasible under the Constitution.
The firebrand 25-year-old leader, who has been running a pitched agitation for quota to the Patidar community since 2015, asked the Gujarat Government to order a survey of Patidars to assess their backwardness, as was done with the Marathas, and to extend reservation in higher education and government jobs.
Patel reminded that the BJP was in power in both Maharashtra as well as Gujarat.
--IANS
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