Jarange refuses to give any more time for Maratha reservation after Dec. 24

Mumbai: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil on Sunday said he would not give even an hour more to the Eknath Shinde government to implement the Maratha reservation after December 24. The development comes a day after a delegation of senior cabinet ministers Girish Mahajan and Sandipan Bhumre met the Maratha quota activist and sought an extension of a deadline to resolve the issues.

He also said that he has been informed that the Committee constituted by the government has gathered 54 lakh documents related to the Kunbi records and demanded that they should be provided reservation in the OBC category.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that his government is very clear about giving reservations to the Maratha community. “The state government is of the view to provide reservation to the Maratha community without disturbing any communities including OBC’s quota,” the chief minister said.

The Maratha quota activist on Sunday convened a meeting to take a decision on the government’s request at the Antarwali Sarathi village in Ambad tehsil in Jalna district. After the meeting, he said, if the reservation is not provided by December 24, the next course of action would be decided on December 23. “If the government fails to provide reservation, we are ready to fight. But we would not give even one hour after the 24 December 2023,” Mr. Jarange Patil said.

The activist also demanded that all Marathas who have been given Kunbi caste certificates should get reservations under the OBC category. Kunbi is already listed as one of the OBC communities. However, the OBC leaders are against the inclusion of Marathas in their category.

Jarange had withdrawn his indefinite strike in the second phase on November 3 after setting the December 24 deadline for the government to decide on the Maratha reservation.

Mr. Mahajan said that the chief minister will make a detailed statement about the Maratha reservation in the state legislature on Monday. “We are working honestly to provide reservation to the Maratha community,” the cabinet minister said.