NCP slams Maharashtra govt for not filling staff vacancies, says Devendra Fadnavis only 'makes announcements and postpones them'

Mumbai: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Monday hit out at the BJP-led Maharashtra government for not filling staff vacancies regularly and accused Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of “making announcements and then postponing them”.

Fadanvis had announced in the Budget session of the Assembly in February 2018 that 72,000 vacant posts in various government departments would be filled within two years, of which 36,000 were to be done in the first phase.

However, Sunday, Fadnavis, in a televised address, had stated that the recruitment for these posts had not begun.

“The drive is yet to start. The process of how to ensure justice for Marathas while not impacting reservations for members of the SC/ST communities was being worked out,” Fadnavis had said Sunday.

Addressing a press conference here Monday, Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Nawab Malik said, “If the vacancies were filled regularly, this situation wouldn’t have arisen.”

Maratha groups have maintained that members of the community would not get adequate representation in the 72,000 jobs since the state government had not yet decided on reservations for them.

The community, which constitutes nearly 30 percent of the state’s population, are seeking 16 percent quota in jobs and education.

“There is a shortage of government staff and this is reflected in the administration. The government is yet to issue a notification for the first phase (of recruitment). What is the point in saying recruitment would be done after a solution to the Maratha reservation demand is found?” Malik questioned.

“Fadnavis can only make announcements and then postpone them,” the NCP spokesperson alleged.

He criticised the Maharashtra chief minister for making a televised address (on the Maratha reservation stir) stating that “you can’t run a government through television”.

“Fadnavis said the decision on Maratha reservation will be taken in a time bound manner by November. This should have been his stand four years ago,” the NCP leader said.

He added that the opposition was not creating hurdles on the Maratha quota issue and claimed that it was on the opposition’s insistence that Fadnavis convened an all party meeting on it.