Buoyed by the Shinde dispensation’s recent decision to accept his demand for expanding the scope of Kunbi OBC certificates for Marathas, Shivba Sanghatana leader Manoj Jarange-Patil on Monday threatened to go on a fresh hunger agitation from February 10 to demand speedy implementation of a draft rules for the Maratha reservations.
Talking to media persons in his home village of Antarwali Sarathi in Jalna district, Jarange-Patil said: “I will go on an indefinite hunger strike from February to demand immediate implementation of the expanded Kunbi OBC certificate rules”.
It may be recalled that on January 27, the Maharashtra government had decided to issue a gazette notification with rules aimed at easing and expanding the scope for offering Kunbi OBC certificates to Marathas. These certificates will entitle them to apply for government jobs and admissions in educational institutions as OBCS, who are entitled for 27 per cent reservations in the state.
Miffed with what he said that “a handful of 10-20 disgruntled people who have `taken ‘supari’ (Contract)” to speak against and attack me on social media’, Jarange-Patil said: “The disgruntled elements are from both the government and opposition sides. In fact, they are jealous of me …Marathas are behind me and I am behind the Marathas”
This fight is for the Marathas… If these disgruntled elements do not stop their campaign against me, I will have no alternative but to reveal their names along with their parties and leaders,” Jarange-Patil said.
On its part, the Maharashtra government has gone about widening the scope of Maratha reservations by defining ‘sage-soyare’, a Marathi term for ‘relatives from the family tree.
Kunbis form a sub-caste of the Maratha and covered under OBCs - and thus the certificates would enable them to get reservation in jobs and education.
Jarange-Patil said that so far 57 lakh Kunbi-Maratha and Maratha-Kunbi records had been found during the survey conducted over the past several months. “This, I am sure, would touch 60 lakh. It has taken 75 years to do it,” he said.
“As many as 36 lakh caste certificates have been issued... But, what we want is the speedy implementation on multiple issues,” he said.
In a related development, the opposing OBCs groups -- who have not taken kindly to the state government’s decision to carve out benefits for Maratha community in the name of Kunbi OBCs ---have also threatened to intensify their agitation.
The OBC groups’ decision to intention to intensify their agitation came after the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) Minister Chhagan Bhujbal disclosed how he had ‘quit’ his ministerial post way back on November 16, and his resignation letter was still lying with the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Bhujbal, whose resignation as state Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minister has not been accepted, has taken a hard stand against his own government. Bhujbal has gone on record saying that “there is a discrimination against OBCs in the state” and that the last OBC Elgar Mahasabha at Ahmednagar would prove to be a seed for bigger revolution in the state.