india

Updated: Jul 01, 2017 20:24 IST

Union minister of state for social justice, Ramdas Athawale on Saturday demanded reservations for the SC-ST community in the Indian cricket team.

The minister, who was in Nagpur, said that the national cricket body BCCI should provide reservations to SC and ST sportspersons to give them equal opportunity in the international sport.

Responding to a question seeking a probe into the Indian cricket team’s defeat by Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final, Athawale said he was aghast by the huge margin of loss.

India had earlier in the tournament inflicted defeat on the same Pakistani team. But the loss in the final left every Indian wondering if the match was fixed. The BCCI should investigate the matter and clear all doubts, he demanded.

The RPI leader went on to say that “perhaps reservation to SC, ST persons in the team would have ensured better performance”.

“There is no harm in giving a 25% reservation to these two categories,” he said, and added that this could encourage players from the two sections to do even better when they get a chance to play at the national and international level.

A champion of separate Vidarbha state, the leader said that his party was committed to the cause and would vote for it, if such a bill comes in Parliament.

Athwale also announced his party’s plan to organise protests on August 15 for the same.

He would be meeting Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Nitin Gadkari and appealing to them to help create the separate state.

Welcoming the farm loan waiver announced by Fadnavis, he, however, expressed unhappiness at the non-implementation of the Rs 1,000 instant loan to farmers due to the lack of RBI guidelines to banks.

Athawale said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was the best thing that could happen in the country.

“It will bring economic freedom to the have-nots and fulfill the dream that Babasaheb Ambedkar saw of bringing equality in society,” said the union minister.

Athawale was in Parliament on June 30 night when President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled GST.