Maratha Quota Activist Resumes Fast, Demands Special Assembly Session

Mumbai: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Saturday launched yet another indefinite hunger strike at Antarwali-Saraati village in Jalna district of Maharashtra, demanding implementation of the promises made by the Shinde-Fadnavis government in Maharashtra. He accused the government of not fulfilling the promises made regarding the reservation for the Maratha community.

The Maratha activist also demanded that the government should call a special session in next two days for ratifying a notification, which has stated Kunbi certificates could be given to eligible Marathas and their “sage soyre (blood relatives)”, which would entitle them to reservation benefits.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Chandrakant Patil said that there is no need for Manoj Jarange-Patil to sit on hunger strike as the government is going to give the reservation to Maratha community members who do not have Kunbi caste certificate.

Jarange said the state government has issued a draft notification for expanding the OBC quota but should convert the notification into law. “What is the government waiting for? I have been saying that the government should not waste time in issuing the notification. Yet, the notification is not being converted into a law,” he said.

The draft notification issued by the government on January 26 includes one of the key demands of Jarange-Patil related to the issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to ‘sage soyare’ (blood relatives) of those Marathas who have Kunbi records.

Jarange said the state government should convene a special legislature session within two days and pass a law relating to sage-soyare. “Three months ago, we submitted to the government the details as to who are sage-soyare for inclusion in the new law,” he said.

The quota activist said that though he had announced that he will sit on hunger strike from February 10, the government has not asked him to withdraw his protest and no government delegation has met him.

The Maratha community, under the leadership of Jarange Patil, has been seeking reservations in education and jobs under the OBC category. However, the government has agreed to provide reservation under the OBC category only to those whose Kunbi records are available. The state government has also said that they will bring a law on separate reservation for the Maratha community without touching the existing reservations for SC, ST and OBC categories.

The previous BJP government in Maharashtra had provided separate reservation for the Maratha community in education and employment. However, the Supreme Court struck it down in May 2021 on the ground that there was no valid reason to provide reservation to the Maratha community by breaking the 50 per cent limit for reservations.