Jarange ended his five-day fast for the Maratha quota in Mumbai on September 2, after the government announced the formation of a committee to issue Kunbi caste certificates
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Sunday reiterated that Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota will not be affected while giving reservation to the Maratha community. He also said not all Marathas will get the Kunbi caste certificate even as quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil Monday asked the state government to start distributing Kunbi certificates before September 17.
“We will not be giving blanket Kunbi certificates to Marathas. The benefit of reservation will be given to only those whose caste records have been found,” Fadnavis said in Purandar while attending the Krantiveer Umaji Naik birth anniversary event.
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Jarange ended his five-day fast for the Maratha quota in Mumbai on September 2, after the government announced the formation of a committee to issue Kunbi caste certificates to members of the Maratha community who can provide historical evidence of their Kunbi heritage. The Kunbi caste is classified as an OBC in Maharashtra.
The government last week issued a resolution following hectic talks between ministers and Jarange to resolve the Maratha quota crisis. The government resolution (GR) mentioned implementing the Hyderabad Gazette, a 1918 order by the then Nizam of Hyderabad. All records of the Marathwada region were part of the Hyderabad Gazette.
Fadnavis said Marathwada had Nizam rule until 1948. “The records of Marathwada are available in the Hyderabad gazette. We will give reservation to those whose records are found,” he said.
Fadnavis said his government was committed to the welfare of the OBC communities. ”They should keep demanding, and we will try our best to fulfil their demands.”
“We will not take out reservation from the OBC and provide it to the Maratha community. Whatever happens, we will ensure that the OBC reservation is not affected. Our government consistently makes welfare plans for the OBC communities. We will not indulge in the practice of snatching from one community and giving it to another community,” he added.
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Fadnavis said the progress of the OBC communities cannot be guaranteed until they are integrated into the mainstream of public life. “There should be no doubt about their development. We are fully committed to ensuring the advancement of the OBC communities. All of their demands will be addressed.”
During a press conference in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Monday, Jarange Patil said, “The government should begin issuing Kunbi certificates to all Marathas in Marathwada based on the records found in the Hyderabad gazette before September 17. If this does not happen, we will be left with no choice but to make a strong decision.”
Warning the government, Jarange Patil said, “If attempts are made to stop the distribution of certificates, the government will have to deal with us.”
Jarange Patil said the government should not give any excuses. ”The government should not listen to any political leaders. It should start implementing the government resolution issued last week. We have developed the GR after making painstaking efforts. The government has accepted the GR, and now it should not go back on its word. It is a strong GR which has ensured that all Marathas will be in the OBC category.”
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Fadnavis hails Umaji Naik
Speaking about Krantiveer Umaji Naik, a freedom fighter from the Ramoshi community of Maharashtra who challenged British rule in the early 19th century, Fadnavis said, ”Umaji Naik fought for the betterment of the lives of the Ramoshi community. The community has always remained upfront for protecting religion and the country. The first opposition to the British came from none other than Raje Umaji Naik. He set up his own Army and chased the Brithers away.”
“The community is directly related to Lord Ram. During Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s regime, Baharji Naik Ramoshi was his trusted lieutenant. He was a spy. He was working as the third eye. Umaji Naik was an able administrator. The Brithers hung him, but the community continued to fight on,” he added.
Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.
Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives.
Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees.
During Covid, over 50 doctors were asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa.
Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.
Manoj More is on Facebook with 4.9k followers (Manoj More), on twitter manojmore91982 ... Read More
