Maratha quota protest | Jarange refuses to budge, asks govt to issue GR based on available records

Jarange has been staging an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai from Friday over his demand for a 10% quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category.

Mumbai: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange has vowed to stop drinking water from the third day of his hunger strike on Monday and brave “bullets” for reservation under the OBC category, demanding that the state government issue a GR based on the reservation based on available records.

For its part, 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 in Azad Maidan till his demands are met, even if the Fadnavis government fires bullets at protesters.

He demanded that the government issue a GR on the Maratha reservation based on available records.

"The government should say that Marathas are a sub-caste of Kunbis. There are 58 lakh records that have been found, which show links of Marathas as Kunbis. Those who want a reservation will take it. Don't generalise Marathas as Kunbis if there is a legal issue," Jarange told a press conference on Sunday night.

He said no one can stop Marathas from getting reservations under the OBC category.

The Kunbi community is associated with agriculture-related occupations and is grouped under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

Forced to do a political tightrope ahead of civic elections, the government said the cabinet sub-committee will seek a legal view on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer regarding the Kunbi status for Marathas, which was a key demand of Jarange.

State Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on the Maratha reservation issue, chaired two meetings on the quota issue during the day.

Addressing media people after the sub-committee met here in the evening, Vikhe Patil said Advocate General Biren Saraf and retired HC judge Sandeep Shinde told the panel that they would require time to study whether the Hyderabad and Satara gazetteers can be implemented as demanded by Jarange.

"I will meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and apprise him of the deliberations the sub-committee had. There is a Supreme Court observation regarding the recognition of Marathas as Kunbis. We cannot override the SC observations (that Marathas and Kunbis are not the same). We are open to discussions as a solution needs to be found,” he said.

Jarange has been staging an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai from Friday over his demand for a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category.

A day earlier, the quota leader refused to soften his stand after a delegation led by retired HC judge Sandeep Shinde met him.

As political charges flew thick and fast, Maratha protesters blocked the car of NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule after she met Jarange at his protest venue, and raised slogans against Sharad Pawar.

Sule demanded that the Maharashtra government convene a special session of the state legislature and an all-party meeting to resolve the vexed Maratha reservation issue.

Asserting that he will not leave Mumbai till his demands are met, Jarange said, "The government has records of 58 lakh Marathas as Kunbis." "From tomorrow, I will stop taking water as the government is not accepting the demands. But I am not going back till the quota demand is met. We will get the reservation for Marathas under the OBC category no matter what," Jarange told his supporters.

A meeting of the cabinet sub-committee was held at Vikhe Patil's residence earlier in the day to deliberate on Jarange's proposal.

"The sub-committee under the leadership of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is working to resolve the matter. We also examined issues related to the Hyderabad and Satara gazetteers. To avoid legal hurdles during implementation, we will consult the state Advocate General," Vikhe Patil said.

Jarange has demanded the implementation of the Hyderabad and Satara gazetteers and recognition to Marathas as Kunbis — an agrarian caste included in the OBC category — which will make them eligible for reservation in government jobs and education.

Vikhe Patil's cabinet colleague Chandrakant Patil said the Maratha community should benefit from the existing EWS quota rather than being categorised as OBCs.

Responding to Jarange's criticism of the chief minister for not sending cabinet ministers to meet him, Chandrakant Patil said Devendra Fadnavis is flexible, but there are certain Constitutional limitations.

"Normally, delegations come to meet the CM, not the other way round. However, he (Fadnavis) is so flexible that he can even go. But it must bring a solution, not just lead to humiliation," he said.

On the third day of the protest, leaders of Mahayuti and the Opposition traded barbs.

BJP leaders lashed out at NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar a day after he said that a Constitutional amendment was necessary to lift the "52 per cent ceiling" on quotas placed by the Supreme Court.

The opposition Congress alleged that the government was informed well in advance about the Maratha quota agitation, but it delayed the formation of a cabinet sub-committee BJP leader Nitesh Rane accused NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar of funding Jarange's protest.

Thousands of members of the Maratha community are camping on footpaths, vehicles, Azad Maidan, and CSMT platforms.

The BMC has deployed 800 sanitation workers to maintain cleanliness and arrangements for protesters.

Opposing dilution of OBC quota, NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal has convened a meeting of OBC leaders.