Sena MLA announces new party, to fight for Maratha quota

Accusing the Shiv Sena leadership of asking him not to voice his views on the Maratha quota issue, party MLA in Maharashtra Harshvardhan Jadhav announced on Wednesday that he is floating a new outfit.

Jadhav, who tendered resignation on the issue of reservations for the Marathas, Dhangars and Muslims in July, said his new party will strive to get quota for these communities.

His resignation as MLA is yet to be accepted by the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade.

The legislator from Kannad in Aurangabad district said he would decide the new party's name in a couple of days.

The party would be launched formally in November this year and it may contest the Lok Sabha elections, Jadhav said.

"Social injustice has increased among various castes. Hence I have decided to form a new party to ensure social equilibrium which is mentioned in the Constitution, which includes right to equality and equal opportunity," Jadhav told PTI over phone from Aurangabad.

"I was told (by the Sena leadership) not to speak on the Maratha quota issue. I did not find it (the gag order) right, as some people had killed themselves on that issue," Jadhav said.

Shiv Sena is part of the BJP-led government in Maharashtra and the NDA government at the Centre.

"When an MLA takes aggressive stand on an issue concerning people, you (the party) should not have reprimanded him," Jadhav said.

The politically and numerically dominant Maratha community had launched a fresh agitation for quota in education and government jobs in July this year. The state government had said it can grant the demand only after all legal formalities are completed.