Govt working on legally sustainable solution: Minister on Maratha quota row

Mumbai: Maharashtra minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Monday said the government is working on a solution to the Maratha quota issue which will stand in the court of law.

Activist Manoj Jarange, who is staging a hunger strike at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, has vowed to stop drinking water from Monday, the fourth day of his agitation, over his demand for reservation to the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

Vikhe Patil, who heads a cabinet sub-committee on the Maratha reservation issue, met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday night to discuss the situation.

"We are working to resolve the issue. I agree it's taking time. But the solution should be sustainable in courts," the minister told reporters.

He said the protesters should ensure the daily routine of Mumbai residents is not affected as it will show their agitation in poor light.

Fadnavis is expected to meet his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar to discuss the government's plan to end the stand-off.

Jarange, who has been staging the indefinite hunger strike from Friday over his demand for a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the OBC category, has demanded the government issue a GR based on the reservation based on available records.

The state government on Sunday said it will seek a legal opinion on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer on the Kunbi status- an OBC caste- for the Maratha community.

Jarange, however, remained unimpressed and said he won't budge from the protest venue till his demands are met, even if the Fadnavis government fires bullets at protesters.