Will take up issue of caste-based census in Maharashtra cabinet: Minister Vijay Wadettiwar

Maharashtra OBC Welfare Minister Vijay Wadettiwar on Thursday said he will take up the issue of caste-based census in the state cabinet and that they have decided to set up a new committee for preparation of the OBC empirical data.

Responding to a starred question by BJP MLC Pravin Darekar in the Legislative Council, the minister said the government did not give more funds to the OBC commission because it was insisting on a caste-based census in the state.

“The terms of reference for the commission were for the preparation of empirical data to establish political backwardness of the OBCs,” he said.

Objecting to the minister’s response, MLC Kapil Patil said without census, the government cannot establish political backwardness of any community.

“Once the backwardness is established, then political quota in each constituency can be fixed,” Patil said.

After Patil’s argument, Wadettiwar said they have decided to set up a new committee for preparation of the empirical data of OBCs. Former state chief secretary Jayant Banthia, former FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagade and some other officials are part of it.

“However, I will take up the issue of caste-wise census in the state cabinet. The state government can release more funds for the OBC commission once the cabinet approval is obtained,” the minister said, while responding to another question.

Wadettiwar also tried to blame D D Deshmukh, former member secretary of the backward commission saying, “Deshmukh never gave the data to the commission and insisted on conducting caste-based census. Hence, the state government earlier refused to give funds. It was one of the main reasons behind delay in the transfer of funds.”

Published on: Friday, March 11, 2022, 09:36 AM IST