Mumbai: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the Maharashtra government was staying the mega recruitment of 72,000 government posts until such time the issue of Maratha reservation was resolved. He also said that his government was committed to Maratha reservation and that a decision on the same would be taken before November this year.

Mr Fadnavis made these announcements in a special appeal broadcast Sunday evening by state-owned channel “Doordarshan Sahyadri”.

“There has been miscommunication and confusion over mega recruitment in the Maratha community. I want to clear that till the confusion gets cleared, this recruitment process will be stayed,” Mr Fadnavis said.

“Maharashtra has the glory of being a peaceful state. A few communities have lagged behind in terms of development in the past 58 years. So, there are serious issues. But these issues are not of today. They are long pending and our government is committed to resolving them,” he said.

“A few people are demanding reservation with an ordinance. But we need to understand that the Supreme Court has put down guidelines. If we do not follow, our joy of reservation will be short-lived,” he clarified.