ACTIVIST Manoj Jarange on Wednesday said the Maratha community in Marathwada and western Maharashtra will now get reservation, even as OBC leaders expressed unhappiness over the Government’s decision and warned of agitation. “We have scored a victory, and the credit goes to the Maratha community. Maratha people from Marathwada and western Maharashtra will now get quota,” Jarange told reporters from a hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, appealing to his supporters to maintain calm and have faith in his decision.

 

The 43-year-old activist, who returned from Mumbai after ending his hunger strike, is receiving medical care in a private hospital here for dehydration and low blood sugar. “Not a single line had been written by the State Government in our favour till now. People should not believe in the ‘joker-type’ individuals (who have criticised his move). Those speaking against the decision have done nothing for the Maratha community,” Jarange said. The Bombay High Court, however, sought a response from the activist to allegations made in petitions opposing his five-day agitation, noting that large scale damage was caused to property in Mumbai. Civic personnel worked through the night to remove heaps of garbage, food items and mineral water bottles left behind on roads and Azad Maidan in south Mumbai after Jarange ended his fast. More than 125 metric tonnes of garbage was lifted from Azad Maidan and surrounding areas during the five-day-long Maratha quota agitation, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the Government found a solution in the interest of the Maratha community. Jarange called off the protest after the Government accepted most of his demands, including granting eligible Marathas Kunbi caste certificates, which will make them eligible for reservation benefits available to the OBCs.

 

The Government has announced forming a committee to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members with historical evidence of their Kunbi heritage, a social group classified as an OBC in the State. The Kunbi is a traditional farming community in the State and they have been included in the list of OBC category in Maharashtra in order to make them eligible for Government reservations in jobs and education. The Government Resolution (GR) issued by the social justice and special assistance department also mentioned about implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer. 

 

 

NCP leader and Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Wednesday said he would move the court against the GR or order issued by the State Government for expediting the grant of Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Marathas. Indicating his displeasure about the Government Resolution (GR) issued amid Maratha leader Manoj Jarange’s hunger strike, Bhujbal, a prominent leader from the Other Backward Classes, did not attend a cabinet meeting earlier in the day. “OBC leaders have doubts about the GR....As to who won after Jarange’s agitation. We are seeking legal opinion on whether the Government is authorised to change people’s caste,” the veteran leader told reporters. When asked if he himself would approach the court against the GR, Bhujbal replied in the affirmative. He also skipped a meeting of party leaders called by Nationalist Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will talk to Bhujbal and explain the facts to him. Bhujbal will be placated after knowing the facts, he added. “The decision taken by the Government is in accordance with law. No injustice has been done to any other community while taking the decision,” Shinde told reporters. Jarange, who has been demanding that Marathas be recognised as Kunbis so that they get the benefit of reservations, ended his five-day fast on Tuesday after the Devendra Fadnavis Government agreed to issue a GR to resolve the issue.