Maharashtra: OBC community to hold rally in support of Chhagan Bhujbal in Nashik on 3 October

Nashik: Members of the OBC community will take out a rally in Nashik on 3 October in support of former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who was arrested in March by Enforcement Directorate on charges of money laundering. [caption id=“attachment_3023982” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Chhagan Bhujbal. AFP[/caption] A decision to this effect was taken at a rally held by the Other Backward Classes (OBC) members at Nashik’s Ramlila Lawns on Monday. The rally was addressed by local OBC leaders, who praised the efforts of Bhubal in developing Nashik and other parts of the district when his party NCP was in power in the state. They alleged that the present BJP-led state government has put the former PWD minister behind bars with a revengeful attitude, and urged people to participate in the march scheduled on 3 October. Several OBC communities in the state have expressed their support for the march, the organisers claimed in a release in Nashik. The development comes at a time when the Maratha community members have been holding ‘silent marches’ across the state demanding quota in education and government jobs. Bhujbal, an OBC leader who is MLA from Yeola constituency in Nashik, is presently in judicial custody at a Mumbai jail after his arrest on March 14 by the Enforcement Directorate on charges of money laundering. The Bombay High Court had on Tuesday said it was not inclined to grant the interim relief sought by Bhujbal in a petition filed by him, challenging the constitutional validity of certain sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Maharashtra Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde had last week called on the beleaguered NCP leader after he was admitted to state-run JJ hospital in Mumbai following an illness.