Jolt as Maha BC panel chief quits on ‘personal grounds’

Nagpur (Maharashtra), Dec 12 (IANS) In a bolt, the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) Chairperson, Justice (retired) Anand Nirgude quit his post — as the quota issue continues to rock the state polity and the government, here on Tuesday.Justice Nirgude submitted his resignation to the government on December 4 and it was accepted on December 9 when the Maharashtra Legislature Winter Session was underway.Congress’ Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar first tweeted the developments and alleged that the state government “hid the information” from the Legislature about it.On his part, Justice Nirgude — who was appointed the Chairperson in March 2021 — confirmed that he had resigned for ‘personal reasons’, he had done his best for the MSBCC but would not choose to speak about it before the media.Terming the news as “shocking”, Wadettiwar said that 9-member MSBCC Members are resigning one after the other and the “government hid the information that the President had accepted the resignation (of Nirgude)”.Earlier two other Members — Laxman Hake and Balaji Bhillarikar — had quit the panel alleging ‘interfernce’ by the state government into its functioning.Now, after the MSBCC Chairperson and two other members quitting, the panel is left with other — Nilima Lakhade, Chandulal Meshram, Baban Taywade, Sanjiv Sonawane, Gajanan Kharate, Alka Rathod and Govind Kale.“Why did the government not give any information about this in the House when the Winter Session is on? The government must explain in the House why a Member and now the Chairman of MSBCC has quit,” demanded Wadettiwar.The MSBCC had recently been looking into the status of backwardness of the Maratha community — currently on a warpath for reservation — and the spate of resignations have raised concerns among the various communities.The MSBCC was directed by the state government to ascertain the existence of exceptional circumstances or extraordinary situations in the context of the Maratha community, justifying exceeding of the limit of 50 per cent quotas as laid down in the Supreme Court judgements.Shivba Sanghatana President Manoj Jarange-Patil said Nirgude may have had his reasons for quitting but added that he had “no idea” of the development.–IANSqn/dpb