‘Does MVA support Maratha reservation under OBC category?’: Maharashtra BJP chief

“Instead of attacking Mahayuti, the Opposition MVA should make its views clear. I dare them to mention their support for Jarange Patil’s demand of Maratha reservation under the OBC category in their manifestos,” Bawankule added.

Bawankule’s remarks came on a day when Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil began an indefinite fast at Antarwali Sarathi village. Jarange Patil is demanding the implementation of the draft notification that will ensure that the ‘sage soyare’ or blood relatives of Marathas will get Kunbi certificates so that they can avail of reservation under the OBC quota.

In Maharashtra, nobody will want dilution of the existing OBC quota or any existing quota, Bawankule said. “While we are committed to Maratha reservation, it cannot be at the expense of OBCs,” he added.

Last week, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had convened an all-party meeting at the Vidhan Bhavan to discuss the Maratha reservation issue. However, Opposition parties boycotted the meeting.

Reiterating the Mahayuti’s commitment to give Marathas reservation, Bawankule said, “The chief minister has already said that the government is committed to the welfare of Marathas. It has given 10 per cent quota to Marathas under the Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) Act. What is unacceptable is Jarange Patil insisting that Marathas should be allowed to avail reservation under the OBC category.”

The Maratha versus OBC issue has become a polarising issue ahead of the Assembly polls in Maharashtra.

Jarange Patil, who started the Maratha reservation agitation last August, has gone on a fast and held protests several times. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he extensively toured the Marathwada region, giving a clarion call to his followers to teach the BJP a lesson. The BJP bore the brunt as it failed to win a single seat in the drought-prone region which has eight Lok Sabha seats and 46 Assembly seats.

Officially, OBC leaders across party lines are opposed to Jarange Patil’s demand for reservation within the OBC category. But Opposition leaders say it is for the government to resolve the issue.

Senior NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal had approached NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar this week seeking his intervention to resolve the Maratha versus OBC dispute. “Sharad Pawar with his vast experience should come forward to resolve the reservation issue as polarisation between Marathas and OBCs does not augur well for a progressive state like Maharashtra,” Bhujbal said.

While Pawar has assured he would speak to the chief minister, he said he was unaware of what transpired between the government and Jarange Patil, or between the government and OBC activist Laxman Hake.

In 2018, after 58 silent rallies undertaken by the Maratha Kranti Morcha, the then government led by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis gave 12 and 13 per cent quota to Marathas in government education and jobs under the SEBC Act. The Act was unanimously adopted by both Houses of the legislature. In May 2021, during the tenure of the MVA government led by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, the Supreme Court scrapped the Maratha quota.

“The stated objective of the Maratha reservation was the upliftment of the poor backward Marathas in education and employment. Instead, it has become a political issue which is being used by mainstream parties to settle scores,” Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar said. “Nobody wants OBC quota compromised. What needs to be discussed is how to uplift poor Marathas who have long been neglected by dominant ruling classes,” he added.