Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 1: As many parts of Maharashtra continued to sizzle in violence, an all-party meeting convened by the state government on Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution favouring reservation for the Marathas and requested the new poster boy of Maratha pro-reservation agitation, Manoj Jarange Patil to call off his indefinite fast.
The chief minister Eknath Shinde, who presided over the meeting, confirmed the State government’s support for quota for the Marathas and while urging Mr Patil to terminate his indefinite fast emphasised the necessity of his cooperation in securing reservation for the community and also underscored the call for restraint among the Maratha populace.
The meeting was attended among others by the veteran political leader and president of the Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Pawar and the leaders of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena though the former chief minister himself was not invited for the meeting. “Marathas should observe restraint. We are in favour of the Maratha quota, but the government needs time for legal modalities to implement the reservation,” Mr. Shinde said.
The resolution bore the signatures of prominent leaders, including Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab, leader of opposition in the State Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nana Patole, LoP in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve, among others. Notably, Mr. Shinde did not invite his nemesis and former CM Uddhav Thackeray for the meeting.
For the past couple of days, the western State has witnessed outbreaks of violence, leading to the complete suspension of State-run bus services in five Marathwada districts and the imposition of curfews and internet shutdowns in parts of Beed where the residences of two MLAs became targets for protesters. Mr. Shinde, urging against violence, appealed to the Maratha community while also advising political parties to refrain from any activities that might exacerbate the situation.
The Maharashtra government also issued an order directing officials to issue fresh Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members, enabling their access to reservation benefits under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. A government resolution asked officials to translate old documents, having references of Kunbis and written in Urdu and ‘Modi’ script. These documents are to be digitised, attested, and then put in public domain.
The activist recently brought the Maratha quota issue to the forefront in the State by staging a hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati on August 29. The situation escalated when police took action at the hunger strike site on September 1, resulting in injuries to several individuals. The fast ended on September 14 after getting assurances from Mr Shinde.
Accusing the Eknath Shinde-led government of “not being serious” on the reservation issue and “misleading” people, Mr Patil began his second phase of hunger strike in the same village on October 25, a day after an ‘ultimatum’ given by him to the State government to announce reservation for Marathas under OBC category ended. This triggered a fresh wave of protests and violence broke out in parts of the state on Monday. However, Mr Patil said the protests are being held peacefully and he’s not aware who are indulging in violence.
He stressed the Maratha community’s refusal to accept an “incomplete reservation” and demanded a special legislative session on the matter and even threatened to cease drinking water from Thursday if the “complete” quota was not granted to the community starting Wednesday evening.
Reacting to government’s stand that it would need some time to act on the issue, Mr Patil on Wednesday said the Marathas were demanding inclusion under the Kunbi caste, and not any separate quota. Marathas belong to the Kunbi caste, which comes under Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, he asserted. The Shinde government had formed a committee led by a retired judge to look into this. The committee has said in its report that after examining the documents of a lakh people, about 11,530 Marathas were found to have documents of being Kunbi.
The Maharashtra government has also asked officials to issue fresh Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members, which will help them avail reservation benefits under the OBC category.
The Maratha community has faced injustice for years and this time they will not relent until they get reservation, said the activist. “Marathas across the country support us. I am not afraid of dying. My aim is to get reservation for the Maratha community,” he added.
“We are Kunbis. We are already in the OBC category. Why do we need separate reservation? If one brother gets reservation, then why not another? It is our right,” said Mr Patil. “We, Kunbis, are farmers and if reservation is being given based on one’s occupation, then why aren’t we getting it,” he questioned.
Marathas will keep protesting until the community gets reservation as Kunbis, he asserted. “If law and order situation deteriorate, then it is the responsibility of the government,” added Mr Patil.
Maharashtra is witnessing a fresh wave of protests over the Maratha quota demand with some of them even turning violent and leading to vandalism and arson. Beed was the worst affected in the recent violence with two legislators’ houses and a Nationalist Congress Party office set on fire by the angry protesters. But the demand for Maratha reservations is not new.
Marathas, who constitute nearly 33% of the state’s population, have been demanding the reservation in education and government jobs. The first protest demanding reservation was held in Mumbai in 1982 under the leadership of Mathadi Labour Union leader Annasaheb Patil.
In 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 community has been seeking Kunbi caste certificates for Marathas which will enable their inclusion in the OBC category for reservation. Kunbis, who are associated with agriculture, are grouped under the OBC (Other Backward Classes) category in Maharashtra.
Chief Minister Shinde on Tuesday dialled Mr Patil and assured him of a concrete decision by the state cabinet on giving Kunbi certificates to the Maratha community. The violence targeted mainly the NCP legislators and offices over some alleged comments by a politician on the quota demand.
NCP MLA Prakash Solanke, whose house was vandalized and set on fire in Beed, was purportedly heard calling the quota demand a “child’s game” in a widely circulated audio clip. “The person who has not even contested a gram panchayat election (seen as a dig at Manoj Patil), has become a smart person today,” he allegedly said in the clip.
Former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has demanded the centre to resolve the issue of Maratha reservation by calling a special session of Parliament.