Pune event for UPSC, MPSC candidates marred by 'caste' controversy
A function organized to felicitate the candidates who successfully cracked the UPSC, MPSC and other competitive exams Friday June 26, 2026 ended in a ‘caste’ controversy
Pune: A function organized to felicitate the candidates who successfully cracked the UPSC, MPSC and other competitive exams Friday June 26, 2026 ended in a ‘caste’ controversy.
Interestingly, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil and other top BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP leaders were present at the function organized at Ganesh Kala Krida Rangmanch in Swargate, Pune.
The program was meant to honour the successful candidates of the UPSC, MPSC, banking and other competitive examinations, along with their parents.
The programme was however marred by a controversy resulting out of a reported dispute between BJP MP Medha Kulkarni and MLA Abhimanyu Pawar over a chair in the front row.
"This is a Maratha community event"
The dispute led to the accusations and counter-accusations with one of the two warning the other saying, "This is a Maratha community event".
“Even as this entire episode unfolded in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, he took no clear stance on the matter”, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal wrote on X while sharing the video purportedly showing the incidence.
“Is this the BJP's "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" or a new mantra of "Fight over chairs and divide society along caste lines"?” he asked.
Sapkal said the incident “undermined the seriousness of the program” and against “Maharashtra's progressive tradition”.
“Instead of honoring the successful students, BJP leaders put on a display of their own egos and internal factionalism. This does not befit Maharashtra's progressive tradition”, the Congress leader said.
“In the BJP, is the chair bigger, or are the values of the Constitution and equality?” Sapkal asked demanding answer from Chief Minister Fadnavis.
CM warns Coaching Institutes
Chief Minister Fadnavis meanwhile warned that private coaching institutes should not treat students for commercial gains. He said the centers should focus on mentoring aspirants rather than exploiting them in the name of competitive exam preparation.
“I appeal to coaching institutes not to use students for their own interests. Their responsibility is to train students, not to mislead them. This is not a political issue; it concerns the future of our youth,” Fadnavis said while addressing the event.
Fadnavis had earlier also visited the newly established headquarters of the Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research, Training and Human Development Institute (SARTHI) in Shivajinagar, Pune.
As many as 140 candidates supported by SARTHI have cleared the UPSC, 1,124 have qualified in the MPSC, more than 500 have been selected through banking examinations, over 13,000 youth have received skill training leading to employment, and more than two lakh people have benefited from its various training programmes.
Fadnavis announced to establish regional headquarters of SARTHI in other parts of Maharashtra including Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Amravati, Nagpur, Latur and Kolhapur.
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