Activist Manoj Jarange on Monday said the OBC leaders should focus on seeking reservation for the Dhangar community under the ST category instead of criticising the demand for Maratha quota.

Speaking to reporters here, Jarange said the OBC leaders are “not our enemies” and Marathas would support the demand for reservation to the Dhangar (shepherd) community under the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.

On June 13, Jarange suspended his indefinite fast over the Maratha quota, six days after launching it, and set a deadline of one month before the Maharashtra government to accept the community’s demands.

He made the announcement after Maharashtra minister and member of Maratha quota sub-committee Shambhuraj Desai and Shiv Sena MP Sandipan Bhumare met him at his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district and discussed the issue.

Some leaders from the Other Backward Classes have opposed the Maratha quota under the OBC category.

In February this year, the Maharashtra legislature unanimously passed a bill providing 10 per cent reservation for the Marathas in education and government jobs under a separate category.

arange has been demanding implementation of the draft notification that recognises Kunbis as “sage soyare” (blood relatives) of Maratha community members and a law to identify Kunbis as Marathas.

Kunbi, an agrarian group, falls under the OBC category, and Jarange has been demanding that Kunbi certificates be issued to all Marathas, thus making them eligible for quota benefits.

Speaking to reporters at a private hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar where he is undergoing treatment, Jarange on Monday said, “The OBC leaders are not our enemies. I have not spoken anything against them.”

“Instead of criticising and talking about the Maratha quota, they should spend their energy to get reservation for the Dhangar community under the ST category. The Maratha community will also stand firmly with them,” he said.

On statements made by some OBC leaders that they plan to contest the upcoming state assembly elections, Jarange said it is a democracy and anyone can contest polls.

“Instead of discussing who will win and who will lose, they should work and see how the children of their Dhangar community will get educated. Today they have to graze the cattle and work in farms,” he said.

“Only 10-20 persons from every community will move forward if they join politics. But we should think about how our children will get educated. When they (OBC leaders) say that their political existence will come to an end, it means the career of only 5-10 persons will end,” he added.