Members of OBC community stage rally at ground zero of Maratha reservation demand

Mumbai: As the Maratha reservation issue continues to flare up in Maharashtra, the OBC community staged a massive rally in Jalna, the ground zero of Maratha quota demand, on Thursday, and called for an immediate caste census even as veteran politician and minister Chhagan Bhujbal raised serious questions about the attack on police personnel and torching of houses and offices of legislators.

Cutting across party lines, the OBC leaders of the state including Leader of the Opposition in Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar attended the grand meeting.

Bhujbal, a senior OBC leader and state’s Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minister skipped the the Cabinet meeting and spearheaded the OBC Elgar Mahasabha in Jalna, during which he lashed out at Manoj Jarange-Patil, albeit without naming him.

Bhujbal, who is also the President of Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad, made it clear that the OBC community would not allow dilution of their existing quota.

Bhujbal’s stance is a major cause of concern for the Eknath Shinde-led BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance government.

Bhujbal said that he was not against quota to the Maratha community but questioned the logic to issue Kunbi certificates to the Marathas which would enable them to get reservation in jobs and education and other benefits under the OBC category.

Citing the example of Bihar, he called for an immediate caste census in Maharashtra. “We are asking for caste census…(Congress leader) Rahul Gandhi has asked for it…(Prime Minister) Narendra Modi himself hails from the OBC community…(state BJP President) Chandrashekhar Bawankule favours a caste census,” said Bhujbal, a orator-par-excellence, amid thunderous applause, during the rally at the Ghait Nagar at Ambad-Pachod Road at Ambad in Jalna.

It may be mentioned, Jarange-Patil, who is now on a state-tour, has undertaken the two back-to-back hunger strikes in Antarwali Sarathi village off the Dhule-Solapur Road in the Ambad tehsil in Jalna district.

During his address, Bhujbal spoke about the September 1, 2023 lathi-charge in Antarwali Sarathi. “Police had gone there to pursue him (Jarange-Patil) to go with them to hospital but there was stone pelting…as many as 70 police personnel were taken to hospitals which include ladies as well,” he said.

“The police version never came,” he said and urged Maharashtra Legislative Council’s Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe and Maharashtra Share Commission for Women Chairperson Rupali Chakankar to go and speak to the women police personnel. “The Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is the Home Minister apologised and offences were taken back,” he said.

Bhujbal also referred to the October 30, 2023 incident of violence in Beed during which the houses and offices of NCP legislators Prakash Solanke and Sandeep Kshirsagar were torched. “The mob came in waves…they had petrol bombs,” he said, suggesting that the attacks were pre-planned.

“They had coded numbers and people and places were targeted as per that,” he alleged.