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OBC activist Laxman Hake bats for BJP leader Pankaja Munde to be sent to Parliament
Hake said had Ms. Munde won the recently concluded Lok Sabha contest from Beed, she would have stood firm as a guardian of OBC reservation in Parliament
Other Backward Class (OBC) community activist Laxman Hake, who recently undertook a 10-day hunger strike to fight for the preservation of OBC reservation, is now gunning for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pankaja Munde, a prominent OBC leader, to be sent to Parliament.
Speaking in Jalna on Wednesday, Mr. Hake said that had Ms. Munde won the recently concluded Lok Sabha contest from Beed, then she would have stood firm as a guardian of OBC reservation in Parliament.
“Had she won, we are sure she would have fought for and safeguarded OBC rights in Parliament. Her leadership is appealing. So, there is a strong sentiment among OBC youth who feel she should come forward and lead us,” said Mr. Hake, who received his discharge from a local hospital in Jalna where he was undergoing treatment after calling off hunger strike last week.
Also: Marathwada simmers as Jarange-Patil, Hake cross swords
The OBC activist who had launched hunger strike in protest against Maratha quota activist Manoj-Jarange-Patil’s demands that the Marathas get reservation under the OBC Kunbi category, has emerged as a counterweight to Mr. Jarange-Patil in the restive Marathwada region which is presently simmering in the long duel between the Maratha and OBC communities.
Strong support
Mr. Hake’s agitation saw strong backing from several OBC leaders across the political spectrum, cutting across party lines: leaders from Ms. Munde, her cousin — Dhanajay Munde (Ajit Pawar-led NCP), Congressman Vijay Wadettiwar, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal had visited Mr. Hake and his associate, Navnath Waghmare, during their hunger strike.
Ms. Munde had narrowly lost to Bajrang Sonawane of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) in the Beed Lok Sabha contest in this year’s general election. Mr. Jarange-Patil’s Maratha quota agitation is said to have played a major factor in her loss.
Since her defeat, there has been talk of sending Ms. Munde to the Rajya Sabha as ‘political rehabilitation’ and also keeping in mind the aggravated social tensions in Marathwada.
However, Mr. Hake stressed giving Ms. Munde a Rajya Sabha berth was not about ‘rehabilitation.’
“This is not a question of ‘political rehabilitation’. We would like to see her in Parliament and there is nothing wrong with OBC community youth expressing this sentiment. Her father, the late Gopinath Munde had always stood firm on the need to safeguard OBC reservation and Ms. Pankaja Munde is the legatee of her father’s ideals. So, the OBC community is not asking for charity when we express the wish to see her in Parliament,” he said.
‘Thanksgiving tour’
Much in the manner of Mr. Jarange-Patil after his hunger strikes, Mr. Hake, along with Mr. Waghmare, now plans to embark on a ‘thanksgiving tour’ by visiting districts in Marathwada and Vidarbha, including Beed, Buldhana, Parbhani, Washim among others to raise awareness among the OBC community about their rights and the need to safeguard them.
Mr. Hake said he did not condone banners prohibiting leaders other than OBC community ones from entering villages and urged his supporters not to prop such boards.
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