In an effort to oppose any attempt to include Kunbi-Marathas in the OBC fold, an ‘OBC Bhatke Vimukt Jaat Aarakshan Bachao Yalgaar Sabha’ (meeting for saving the reservation from OBCs and Nomadic tribes) was held in Ambad in Jalna district. of Maharashtra on Friday, November 17.
Top leaders from various political parties had joined the demonstration out of a rare vision of solidarity. Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal and several other prominent OBC leaders including Congress leaders Vijay Wadettiwar, Rajesh Rathod, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Gopichand Padalkar, Prakash Shendge and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) leader Mahadev Jankar had participated in the protest, news agency PTI reported.
Considering the outcry from the OBC communities, it is unlikely that the Maharashtra government will opt for the Maratha reservation under the OBC category on the basis of Kunbi certificates across the state. Indian Express reported on Monday.
As the demonstration over the Maratha reservation in Maharashtra gained momentum, here is a summary of everything that happened recently in the state in connection with the row:
OBC leaders protest and their demand
During the meeting, Bhujbal reiterated that the existing reservation for the OBCs should not be curtailed while he made reservation for the Marathas. “We are not against Maratha reservation, but there should be no encroachment on OBC quota,” he said.
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Bhujbal also wondered how suddenly documents were discovered showing that Maratha families belonged to the Kunbi caste, an OBC community. “Initially, 5,000 records were found in Marathwada, which was part of Nizam’s Hyderabad state (before 1948). Later, the number increased to 13,500… Even when there were elections in Telangana, the number went up,” he added .
Bhujbal further demanded an “immediate” caste census.
Is Bhujbal’s statement divisive?
Though several OBC leaders from different political parties had joined the protest rally, a statement by Chhagan Bhujbal did not go down well with some of them.
According to a Indian Express In the report, Chhagan Bhujbal challenged the Marathas and asked those belonging to the OBC category to “reply to them with the same coin”. He said: “I am receiving reports that our banners are being torn. Are your hands tied? We will have to answer at the same time.”
He said granting reservations to the Marathas in the state would lead to a confrontation between the Marathas on one side and OBCs, SCs, STs and Muslims on the other.
Bhujbal also criticized Maratha activist Manoj Jarange’s appeal to the people not to allow political leaders into their villages until the Marathas were given reservations.
“There is democracy in the state. Do these people own the state? I appeal to the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister (Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio) that the boards that say there is no access for leaders should be removed. Is there law and order or not?” he was quoted by PTI as said.
Bhujbal, who was praised by many for leading the protest rally, was also criticized by many for “inflaming tensions between the Marathas and the OBCs”.
Congress leader and Maharashtra Leader of Opposition (LoP) Vijay Wadettiwar on Sunday said there should be no fight or division between the OBC and Maratha communities. Wadettiwar was among the other OBC leaders who shared the stage with Bhujbal at the rally.
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Wadettiwar reportedly said he does not support extremism. “No community should take an extremist side…,” he said. While distancing himself from Bhujbal’s statement, he was quoted by The Hindu as saying, “We believe that the OBCs should be vindicated and rights should be guaranteed.”
“At the same time, we have no quarrel between the two communities. He (Jarange) has the right to make demands on the Maratha community,” Wadettiwar said.
Sambhaji Chhatrapati, a member of the former royal family of Kolhapur, also reacted sharply to Bhujbal’s statements.
Chhatrapati accused Bhujbal of fueling tensions between the Marathas and the OBCs. “Bhujbal should be sacked as minister as he took a different stand from the state government,” the former Rajya Sabha member said. “The OBCs are not hostile to the Maratha community and Bhujbal tried to set up the two parties for his political interests,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, who also belongs to the OBC category, said the central and state governments are not willing to address these issues related to reservation in government jobs and education.
Maharashtra government’s stand on the Maratha row
Maratha activist Jarange had started a hunger strike last month to press the demand for reservation for the community. He demanded issuance of Kunbi certificates to the entire Maratha community for reservations under OBC category. he had earlier said that the Maratha community would support the quota-related demands of the Banjara and Dhangar communities.
Banjaras want to fall into the Scheduled Tribes category. The Dhangar community is also demanding reservation (in ST category).
Following this, the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government decided to give Kunbi caste certificates to those Marathas who could provide records of the erstwhile Hyderabad state where their ancestors were described as belonging to the Kunbi community so that they can avail OBC quota.
Bhujbal’s criticism of his own government
Bhujbal blamed the top leadership of his own government for taking the “anti-OBC decision” and earlier said that “backdoor” attempts to allow reservation to the Maratha community under the OBC category will be thwarted.
He had sarcastically asked how so much ancestral data had suddenly become available (showing that Maratha families belonged to the Kunbi cast). “They are giving Marathas a backdoor access to the OBC quota,” he was quoted by the newspaper Hindustani times as said on November 6.
He had said that when the Maratha leaders realized that they would not get the reservation directly (outside the OBC quota), they tried to get it through the back door (within the OBC category).
He alleged that “documents are being forged to prove Kunbi origin.” “This should stop. You say the OBC quota will not be affected. How? Once he gets a Kunbi certificate, he will become an OBC,” he was quoted by the Print as saying.
Opposition OBCs a concern for BJP?
Bhujbal reportedly warned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) about the anger of the OBC community. The BJP has enjoyed the support of OBCs in several parts of the state.
“It is said that 60 per cent of OBCs vote for the BJP, but tomorrow if voters see their reservations being affected, what will they do?” the NCP leader was quoted by the Times of India as said.
Notably, the coalition of the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP are currently in power in Maharashtra. Bhujbal is the leader of Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction.
‘OBC people are with us’: Maratha activist
Activist Manoj Jarange said earlier this month: “The common OBC people are also with us, regardless of what their (OBC) leaders say.”
He said the state government has not yet given Jarange a written time-bound program on the resolution of the quota issue. “If they don’t give it, we don’t need it. If they fool the Maratha community, we have the weapon of peace. Let us not turn that off,” he added.
According to a PTI report, Jarange had earlier in November expressed satisfaction over the work of the state government in issuing Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas.
“Kunbi certificates are being distributed. But the government must speed up the process of issuing the certificates. As the December 24 deadline approaches, Marathas must remain united and alert,” the activist said.
Jarange had also alleged that OBC leaders were targeting Marathas by registering false offenses against them and said Maratha leaders should support the youth of the community.
Chhagan Bhujbal runs his own party?
The rally led by the OBC leader on November 17 reignited rumors that Bhujbal might form his own political party, the Times of India reported.
According to the India Express, former minister and Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP) leader Mahadev Jankar called on all OBCs to come together and form their own party, instead of depending on leaders of other parties.
In 2021, the Supreme Court had revoked the reservation granted to Marathas by the previous BJP-Shiv Sena government. The court ruled it unconstitutional because it exceeded the 50 percent ceiling for reservations.
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Updated: Nov 20, 2023 10:59 PM IST