Maratha Quota: Ajit Pawar said NCP has already made its stand clear on the Maratha quota issue (File)
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar today said his party NCP has already made its stand clear on the Maratha quota and parried questions on tweets by his son on the politically sensitive issue.
Ajit Pawar, talking to reporters in Pune, said every community deserving reservation in jobs and education should get it.
In a series of tweets on Wednesday night, Parth Pawar, NCP chief Sharad Pawar's grandnephew, said he will file an intervention application before the Supreme Court over the Maratha quota issue.
Asked about his reaction to his son Parth Pawar's tweets on the Maratha reservation issue, Ajit Pawar said, "My sister Supriya Sule (who is also an MP) has already said clearly about it and we have also cleared that this is not the NCP's stand."
"Every time, there is a tweet, questions are asked to me, but that is not my only business. I have several other responsibilities in the state," Ajit Pawar shot back when repeatedly asked about Parth Pawar's tweets.
He said everyone is free to think what they want and tweet on any subject.
"My sister Supriya Sule has already made our stand clear and that is NCP's stand also. Be it Maratha, Dhangar, or any other community, everyone should get their rightful reservation," he said.
Terming the "suicide" of a Maratha youth from Maharashtra's Beed as "tragic", Parth Pawar had tweeted he will file an intervention application before the Supreme Court over the quota issue.
Parth Pawar had said he was devastated to hear about the "tragic death" of the youth and urged leaders of the Maratha community to wake up and fight for the quota cause before a chain reaction of such "unfortunate" incidents starts.
The Supreme Court had last month stayed implementation of the Maratha quota in jobs and education, as it referred the case to a larger bench.
The Maharashtra government, in which the NCP is a key partner, on September 21 said it had filed an application before the top court, seeking vacation of the stay.
Ajit Pawar, who paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary, condemned the alleged gang rape and death of a Dalit woman in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh.
"Such incidents should not take place in any state and there should be stringent laws to curb such incidents. The Centre should look into the issue and bring more stringent laws," he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)