Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday appealed to Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil to end his hunger strike, asserting the government is working to give quota to the Maratha community.
"Those, who will submit documents to establish recognition as Kunbis (OBCs) linked to Marathwada region part of the regime under Nizam, will get the reservation," the CM said.
He announced to form a 5-member committee headed by a retired judge to examine the matter.
Shinde said the committee will submit its report within a month on how to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas from Marathwada region.
Patil adamant on ordinance
Meanwhile, Patil, who has been on hunger strike since August 29, claimed certain documents recognize Marathas from Marathwada region in Maharashtra as OBCs as per the old lists of the Nizam regime, based on which the government can issue an ordinance granting reservation to the community.
“Sufficient documents are available to establish that the Maratha community in Marathwada region was recognized as Kunbis (OBCs) in the past. Before Independence, the Marathwada region was part of the regime under Nizam of Hyderabad (currently Telangana state). The old list mentions that Marathas and Kunbis are the same,” Patil told reporters in Jalna district.
Reservation in jobs and education provided by the Maharashtra government to the Maratha community in 2018 under Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) was quashed by the Supreme Court in May 2021, citing the 50 per cent ceiling on total reservations among other grounds.
“This would be the first such case in the country where protesters possess all the proof, but the Maharashtra government is not taking a decision based on it. The state should not waste its precious time on the formation of new committees to study the reservation. We are ready to recommend some legal experts so that the state can decide without further delay,” he said.
(With agency inputs)
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