Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shindeon Tuesday held an urgent Cabinet meeting to find a solution to pacify the ongoing protests against the state government over the Maratha reservation. Three important decisions were taken in the Cabinet meeting:
- Justice Sandeep Shinde's first report was approved: Justice Shinde had examined the documents of Maratha Kunbi and Kunbi Maratha during the Nizam period of Marathwada.
- Backward Classes Commission now will investigate the educational and social backwardness of the Maratha community and will collect fresh empirical data.
- Three-member Advisory Committee formed: The committee comprising Justice Maroti Gaikwad and Justice Sandeep Shinde under the chairmanship of Justice Dilip Bhosale will give legal advice to the government for providing Maratha reservation.
Jarange hardens his stand
Meanwhile, activist Manoj Jarange, who is leading the Marathra protest, said the Maratha community will not accept an "incomplete reservation" and the Maharashtra government should call a special session of the state legislature on the issue.
Jarange held a news conference at his village Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde talked to him on phone and assured that a decision about giving Kunbi caste certificates to the Marathas would be taken at a state cabinet meeting later in the day.
Kunbis, an agrarian community, are already eligible for reservation in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
"I have spoken to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde....I have made clear my stand once again that an incomplete reservation for the Marathas is not acceptable. The government should announce reservation for the Marathas in the entire state. We (Marathas across the state) are brothers and have a blood relation," Jarange said.
Reservation being given to only some sections of the community would not be acceptable, he added.
"60-65 percent of Marathas are already in the ambit of reservation. The government should extend it to the remaining Marathas in the state. For this, the government should call a special session and pass a resolution, accepting the first report of the committee appointed for this purpose and give (Kunbi) certificates. Those who do not want the certificate will not take them. But those who want, should get it," he said.
A meeting of scholars from the Maratha community will be held at Antarwali Sarati during the day to discuss the issue of quota, Jarange said.
Amid incidents of violence over the demand of quota in some parts of the state, he claimed that Maratha activists were agitating peacefully.
"I have started drinking water as the Maratha community wished so. The community is now agitating peacefully. We want to agitate peacefully. Our two programs, hunger strike and a ban on political leaders from entering villages, should continue," he said.
On some public representatives reportedly submitting their resignations over the quota demand, Jarange said, "I have not asked them to resign. If they want, they can, but it should not affect the community adversely.
Public representatives like MLAs, MPs and former MLAs and MPs should form a group and secure reservation for the Maratha community."
He also said that the agitators should not think of calling a bandh at the moment, and the government should keep public transport services running.
As per a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office earlier, Jarange, who started his second hunger strike on October 25, began to drink water after a "satisfactory" discussion with Shinde in the morning.
Maratha quota protests turn violent
Maratha community members have been staging protests in different parts of the state seeking reservation in government jobs and education under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. At some places, quota supporters vandalised and torched the residences of some politicians. A curfew has been imposed in Maharashtra's Dharashiv district after incidents of violence.
What are hurdles in Maratha quota decision?
In May 2021, the Supreme Court had struck down Maharashtra's Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018, which granted reservation to the Maratha community, for violating the 50 per cent quota limit.
The Maratha community, led by Jarange, has been demanding the issuance of Kunbi certificates to Marathas, enabling them to get inclusion in the OBC category for reservation. Kunbis (the community associated with agriculture) are grouped under the OBC category in Maharashtra.
(With PTI inputs)
