Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said if sulking minister Chhagan Bhujbal thinks injustice has been done to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) by the state government through its decision on Maratha quota, then he should resign to protect his self-respect and on moral grounds.

Raut also accused Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde of orchestrating the Maratha quota protest to create a challenge before Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Activist Manoj Jarange on Tuesday called off his five-day-long hunger strike in Mumbai over the Maratha reservation issue after the government accepted most of his demands. The government also came out with a GR on the issuance of Kunbi (OBC) caste certificates to eligible Marathas.

Talking to reporters, Raut claimed that Bhujbal, a prominent OBC leader, has accepted that injustice has been done to his community and that he is still working under the chief minister who has done injustice.

“If he is leading a community and injustice has been done to it…If anyone feels genuinely about it, then he (Bhujbal) needs to resign from the cabinet. (Former Union minister) C D Deshmukh resigned after he had differences with (former Prime Minister Jawaharlal) Nehru,” he said.

“You (Bhujbal) are boycotting the cabinet meeting, which means you don’t trust the CM. In such a situation, he (Bhujbal) should resign on moral grounds and self-respect. You should submit your resignation and make clear the reasons behind it,” Raut added.

Bhujbal on Wednesday skipped a meeting of the state cabinet and later expressed displeasure over the government order on granting Kunbi status to eligible Marathas for quota, indicating that he would mount a legal challenge.

Jarange has expressed confidence about his community members getting quota benefits following Tuesday’s government resolution (GR) on issuance of Kunbi (OBC) caste certificates to them.

In a veiled attack on Deputy CM Shinde, Raut also alleged that some elements in the state government desired that Jarange should not withdraw his hunger strike and that Fadnavis government should land in trouble.

“What was Fadnavis’ political strategy in keeping (Deputy CM Eknath) Shinde away? Because Shinde’s name crops up in bringing protesters to Mumbai in large numbers. His (Shinde) main intention was not securing reservation but to create a challenge before Devendra Fadnavis,” Raut said.

Mumbai: A 55-year-old Nagpur resident lost over Rs1.40 crore in a cryptocurrency investment scam, cyber police said. According to officials, on July 25, while browsing the internet, the complainant came across an advertisement offering high returns on crypto investments. Clicking on the link, he was redirected to a fake trading website, where he registered and contacted a scammer posing as a trading expert. Following instructions, he first invested Rs1 lakh and soon received Rs4.5 lakh in his bank account, convincing him the platform was genuine.

Between July 11 and August 19, the man transferred Rs1.40 crore in multiple transactions to different bank accounts. Later, when he sought to withdraw his apparent profits, the scammers demanded more money as ‘taxes.’ Realising he had been duped, he approached police. A case has been registered by cyber crime police for cheating and forgery under several sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Mumbai: Who won? Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil or the Mahayuti government. While the former has claimed a thumping victory, sources say the BJP-led Mahayuti government is all set to reap the agitation’s political benefits in the impending local body elections. The government has taken subdued credit for the decisions that successfully ended the five-day agitation, while claiming that it has also protected its core vote back – the Other Backwards Classes (OBCs).

So cleverly has the political manoeuvring begun that OBC leaders like Chhagan Bhujbal have begun consolidating their political base by opposing the two c (GRs) by the government. Surprisingly, a cabinet member cannot oppose a decision taken by the government he is part of.

Since the OBCs have been the core voter base of the Mahayuti in general, and the BJP in particular, nobody from the alliance, not even Bhujbal’s party boss, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar (a Maratha), is likely to question him about his posturing.

Furthermore, the muchtalked-about boycott of cabinet meeting by Bhujbal on Wednesday does not fit into the rulebook of the code of conduct for ministers. But nobody will question him on this as well.

As things stand now, the Mahayuti is clearly trying its best to outsmart the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). However, the opposition stalwarts such as Sharad Pawar fully understand how effective the decision taken by the government was for Maratha protesters as no leader can speak against the OBCs while taking Jarange Patil’s side.

When reviewed carefully, the Maratha community has not received anything significant, as the process for acceptance of the Hyderabad Gazetteer and distributing Kunbi certificates to Maratha families engaged in farming is not going to be smooth due to multi-level scrutiny and the caste validity process as per law. In the end, the Mahayuti will reap the political benefits from both the Marathas and the OBCs. So who won?