Mumbai, Jul 22 (Reporter) Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Nana Patole on Monday strongly attacked the BJP-led Mahayuti government on issue of reservation, accusing it of having ignited the dispute between the Maratha and OBC communities over reservation in the state. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarter, he held the BJP and Devendra Fadnavis responsible for delay in reservation to the Marathas. In 2014, under the leadership of Prithviraj Chavan, the Congress-led state government had granted reservation to the Maratha community, he recalled. However, the subsequent Fadnavis government did not convert the ordinance on Maratha reservation into law, leading to it getting lapsed, he said and alleged that Fadnavis is true culprit behind the failure of Maratha reservation. "In 2014, Fadnavis had promised reservation for various castes and communities, including Marathas, Dhangars and Halba. Now that it is their responsibility to fulfil these promises, why are they blaming the opposition for it," he countered. The MPCC chief said that while the leaders and ministers of the Mahayuti are asking the opposition to clarify their stance on Maratha reservation, a detailed discussion on the issue had already taken place in an all-party meeting and even the opposition had also clarified their position, he recalled. "Now, the responsibility to take a decision lies with the state government, but it is deliberately delaying it. With BJP in power both at the Centre and in the state, who is stopping the Mahayuti government from granting reservation?" he asked and said that a decision should be made immediately. "Did they consult the opposition while handing over lands worth crores to industrialist Gautam Adani at throwaway prices? Did they consult the opposition when industries were being shifted from Maharashtra to Gujarat?" he questioned. The government needs to make the decision on reservation, and they cannot shirk their responsibility, he said. On Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remark on senior leader Sharad Pawar as the "ring leader of the corrupt" at a BJP rally in Pune, Patole remembered that it was the BJP-led central government that honoured Sharad Pawar with the Padma Vibhushan award in 2017. "How is it then Sharad Pawar has now become the ring leader of the corrupt in their eyes? If there is such a person, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he added...////...