Quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday demanded that the Maharashtra government implement a GR issued last week for issuing Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas before September 17, or else he will take a “tough decision” again.
Jarange also claimed 96 per cent of their demands have been fulfilled and asserted his struggle for “full justice” to the Maratha community will continue.
He expressed confidence that the Maratha community members from Marathwada and western Maharashtra will get reservation.
The activist ended his five-day-old fast for quota in Mumbai on September 2 when the government 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 Other Backward Class (OBC) in the state.
The government made the announcement in a resolution and it followed hectic talks between state ministers and Jarange.
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.
“We expect that the government will ask the taluka level offices in the state to act upon the GR. We expect that the work should start before September 17. If not done, I will have to make tough decisions,” Jarange told reporters at a hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar where he was undergoing treatment after he called off his agitation last week.
“The distribution of certificates should start based on the GR before September 17. I believe the government will act on it. If they listen to someone from Yeola (apparently referring to minister Chhagan Bhujbal) and anything goes wrong, we will also challenge the 1994 GR that gave our reservation to others,” Jarange said.
Bhujbal, an OBC leader and MLA from Yeola in Nashik district, has been opposing reservation to Marathas under the Other Backward Classes category.
September 17 is observed as the Marathwada Liberation Day. It marks the anniversary of Marathwada’s integration with India and the annexation of Hyderabad state, which was under the rule of Nizam, into the Union of India.
Jarange claimed some Maratha scholars, who claimed the GR will not help the community, have “gone crazy” and are not able to sleep because of the government order.
Notably, activist Vinod Patil, who has filed petitions in courts concerning the Maratha quota, last week called the GR on granting Kunbi certificates to eligible community members “completely useless” and claimed it will not benefit them in any meaningful way.
“The Maratha community in the state should be a little patient (about the GR),” Jarange said.
“We will announce our policy further at the Dussehra rally at Narayangad in Beed. It (rally) will not be very big, but it will take place,” he said.
Jarange later returned to his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district where members of the Maratha community accorded him a warm welcome.
Addressing a large gathering, he expressed gratitude to the Maratha community for standing firmly with him during the agitation.
“It is like Diwali in Antarwali Sarati today. Let me rest a for a month now. The Maratha community need not get tensed over quota as I am there (to pursue the matter),” he told reporters.
“We have achieved 96 per cent of our demands. The government has issued the GR and reservation has been secured. Marathas of Marathwada and western Maharashtra will get reservation no matter what anyone claims,” Jarange said.
He praised his village residents and credited the movement’s success to the support of the poor and women from across Maharashtra.
“This is the victory of poor Marathas and women who showed solidarity. Women from across Maharashtra played a significant role in strengthening our struggle,” Jarange said.
The credit of the movement’s success belongs to the Maratha community, particularly women, he said and assured the struggle would continue until all their demands are fulfilled.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
