Responding to the Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s letter to Uddhav Thackeray seeking welfare measures for dalits and tribals in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena has welcomed the step and said that there is no pressure politics.
While talking to reporters, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut stated, "If the Congress party has brought forward an agenda which is in the interest of people of Maharashtra and the state, then, it should be welcomed. There is no pressure politics."
On December 14, Sonia Gandhi had written to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, reminding him of the Common Minimum Program of the government and following up on the implementation of certain measures for the welfare of Dalits and tribals.
However, this letter move was significant as it’s the first time ever since the Congress formed an alliance with Shiv Sena along with Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state last year.
Among other things, Sonia Gandhi had asked for reservation in government contracts for scheduled castes and tribes professionals to promote entrepreneurship among them. Moreover, she expressed confidence that the Maharashtra government under Thackeray's leadership will implement the Common Minimum Programme in letter and spirit.
The budget allocation for the development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes should be proportionate to their share in the population, she said.
The focus should be on bringing these communities on par with the rest of society at the earliest, Gandhi said. There should be recruitment drives for filling up a backlog of vacancies in reserved posts, the Congress president said.
The letter also drew attention because this move comes in view of the upcoming Gram Panchayat elections in Maharashtra.
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