Nashik: State cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal is miffed with the organisers of the proposed January 7 OBC rally at Nanded for deciding to invite OBC leaders from other states to that event.Bhujbal told TOI that he will not be attending the Nanded rally. I have some prior engagements on the day and, therefore, it would not be possible for me to attend the Nanded rally, he said.According to Bhujbals close aides, the minister has taken a serious exception to the organisers unilateral decision to invite prominent OBC leaders, including Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, who are not from Maharashtra.Bhujbal is upset with the organisers for not consulting him before deciding to invite OBC leaders from other states. He feels OBC leaders of Maharashtra should fight for the cause of the community members who live in Maharashtra. OBC leaders from other states do not have any role to play in the reservation issue, said the aide.According to the ministers associates, Bhujbal has a few conditions when he is invited to address these rallies. Two of the most important conditions include the presence of OBC leaders only from Maharashtra, irrespective of their party affiliations. Moreover, only issues related to OBCs are to be raised in the rallies. People addressing the rallies must refrain from making any political statements, said the Bhujbal aide, adding that had the rally organisers told the minister that leaders from other states would be invited, he would have objected to it.The septuagenarian NCP (Ajit Pawar group) MLA from Nashiks Yeola constituency has been at the forefront of opposing reservation to the Marathas under the OBC category. He has been addressing OBC rallies in different districts since November 17.

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