Maharashtra minister Bhujbal wants Shinde panel 'disbanded', says it has 'overstepped its mandate'

Nationalist Congress Party minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Monday demanded that the state disband the Justice Shinde Committee, which was formed to expedite the process of granting reservation to the Maratha community. Bhujbal claimed that the Shinde Committee was going beyond its mandate by trying to give blanket OBC status to the entire Maratha community in the state.

"When the committee was formed, we had agreed in the Cabinet that the committee would look into those Marathas who were Kunbis and had historical proof during the Nizam rule to show this. However, now the commission has overstepped its mandate by doing this survey in the entire state," said Bhujbal.

The problem, according to Bhujbal, is that the Shinde committee's move to conduct a survey of the entire state is leading to falsification of records to show more Maratha community members being declared as Kunbis to come under the OBC category.


"We have pointed out instances to chief minister Eknath Shinde of how new fake entries are being made in documents to show that Maratha communities were kunbis. In this manner the entire Maratha community will come under the OBC category which we are opposed to," he said.

He claimed the move to grant the entire Maratha community OBC status would not stand judicial scrutiny.