Asked About Accidents On This Maharashtra Highway, Ajit Pawar Said...

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said that the frequent accidents on the Samruddhi-Mahamarg Expressway occur because of sleepiness or tiredness of the driver.

Talking to the reporters after attending the inauguration ceremony of various development programs in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district, Ajit Pawar said, "The roads of Samruddhi-Mahamarg Expressway are very straight and that's why drivers feel sleepy and accidents happen. However, whatever the reason may be, it needs to be improved."

Further, hitting out at the Opposition over the issue of the Maratha reservation, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the Opposition is doing politics on this matter.

"Mahayuti government is in favour of giving the reservation to Marathas but not by touching the reservation of other communities. The reservation must stand in the court too, however, it's very unfortunate that the opposition is doing politics in it," he said.

Earlier on Monday, an all-party meeting on the Maratha reservation was chaired by Chief Minister Shinde at Sahyadari Guest House in Mumbai.

Along with Chief Minister Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were also present in the meeting.

"In the meeting, we have decided to give reservation to Marathas. The government is of the view to give reservations to Maratha without touching the other (castes) reservations," Mr Shinde said.

He further said, "The decision to give reservations to Marathas must be valid legally and it must stand in law, so we are working on it...the government has accepted many of the protester's demands too."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)