From hospital ICU, Prakash Ambedkar warns of danger to SC/ST/OBC quotas post-polls

Pune, Nov 2 : Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) President Prakash Ambedkar has warned that OBC and Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes reservations could be at peril after the Maharashtra Assembly elections and urged the people to be on guard.

In a statement from his hospital ICU bed, a day after undergoing angioplasty surgery, Ambedkar, 70, said that the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections were critical for saving reservations, besides other reasons.

"After the polls, the OBC quotas shall be struck off and the Supreme Court directives on the creamy layer in SC/ST would be implemented, rendering many people unemployed... We must ensure to get maximum VBA lawmakers elected to foil these plans," urged Ambedkar.

He said it is imperative to elect the highest number of VBA legislators to stop "the attacks on SC/ST/OBC quotas", and appealed to the masses to cast their votes for the VBA candidates in huge numbers.

The VBA chief explained that the polls are also a battle of existence for quotas and to save the SC/ST/OBC reservations, as the Apex Court's directives on the "creamy layer" would be brought into effect that could claim several jobs.

"Hence the Assembly elections were very important for all and it was our responsibility to ensure that these assaults on quotas can be prevented. The people must vote for the VBA's symbol 'Gas Cylinder' to protect their future," urged Ambedkar, appearing weak.

On Thursday, Ambedkar –the grandson of the Chief Architect of the Indian Constitution B. R. Ambedkar – was rushed to a Pune hospital following chest pain and underwent an angiography.

The angiography report showed a small blockage in the right coronary artery after which an angioplasty was recommended.

A day later (November 1), Ambedkar underwent the angioplasty procedure successfully and was shifted to the ICU for convalescing, and his condition was now fine, VBA Spokesperson Siddharh Mokle said.

Ambedkar's sudden illness has pushed him out of the campaign for the Assembly elections in which the VBA was contesting in a majority of the 288 seats.

In his absence, the VBA state President Rekha, along with the Election Coordination Committee, Manifesto Committee and Media & Research Department, was leading the party's poll campaign for the next few days, added Mokle

Ambedkar has been travelling widely owing to the two elections within six months -- the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls -- selecting candidates for both, hammering out seat negotiations with different parties and plunging into gruelling poll campaigns.

The VBA had failed to open its account in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections for 48 seats in the state.

It has entered into friendly tie-ups with certain groups and smaller parties to give a tough fight to the ruling Mahayuti and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliances.

In barely three years, Ambedkar has been afflicted by a cardiac problem for the second time.

In July 2021, he had undergone a major emergency heart surgery at a Pune hospital and he was rendered out of action for many weeks post-operation.