Activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Tuesday launched another indefinite hunger strike to demand reservations in government jobs and education for the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes category, PTI reported.
This is the sixth indefinite hunger strike by Jarange-Patil over the past year.
He started the protest at midnight in the Antarwali Sarati village in Maharashtra’s Jalna district, about 75 kilometres from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Jarange-Patil told reporters that the Maharashtra government was intentionally withholding reservations for the Marathas. The community was giving Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis “one more chance” to meet their demands, he stated.
Jarange-Patil’s latest hunger strike comes just months ahead of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra.
The Maratha agitation over the past year had contributed to the defeat of several candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the recent Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, according to political analysts.
The alliance won 17 of the 48 seats in the state. In the 2019 general election, the BJP-led alliance at the time had won 41 seats.
The Maratha community’s long-standing demand for reservations in education and government jobs resurfaced last year with protests led by Jarange-Patil. The agitation witnessed violence, suicides and the resignation of legislators.
On February 20, Maharashtra’s legislature passed a bill that provides for a 10% quota in education and government jobs for the Maratha community. The quota will be in addition to the current 52% reservations in the state, which already includes a 10% quota for the economically weaker sections category.
On August 1, justifying its recommendation for the 10% quota to the Marathas, the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission told the Bombay High Court that the community had been “pushed to the dark edges of mainstream society” in the state.
The commission told the court that it found “exceptional backwardness” among the Marathas. The High Court is hearing petitions challenging the backward class commission’s report.
The introduction of the 10% quota is similar to the 16% reservation for Marathas under the socially and educationally backward category that was introduced in 2018 by the state’s previous government consisting of the BJP and the united Shiv Sena.
However, that decision was blocked by the Supreme Court in 2021 citing the 50% cap on total reservations it had set in 1992. The court said that there were no “exceptional circumstances” or an “extraordinary situation” in Maharashtra for the state government to breach the limit.
Jarange-Patil has insisted that the Marathas be given reservations only under the Other Backward Classes category because the separate quota exceeded the constitutional ceiling of 50% and would be struck down by the judiciary.
Among Jarange-Patil’s demands are issuance of Kunbi caste certificates for all Marathas. The Kunbis are a sub-caste within the Maratha community who are already classified as Other Backward Classes.
On Tuesday, Jarange-Patil called for the withdrawal of cases filed against several members of the Maratha community during his previous agitation.
“The Maratha community is important to me, but the government is not giving reservation deliberately,” the activist said. “Moreover, they say that we are speaking a political language. I will not speak a political language now, but this is one more chance for Deputy CM Fadnavis.”
“The government should pass an ordinance that Marathas and Kunbis are the same,” he demanded. “Correction should be made in the ordinance passed in 2004.”
The notification of “sage soyare”, a Marathi term for family tree or blood relatives, of Kunbis to claim reservation should be implemented immediately, he demanded.
“Certificates should be given to whoever demands it on the basis of the issued certificates,” he said. “The gazettes should be taken by the state and the offences should be withdrawn.”
Jarange-Patil said that the leaders who support Fadnavis should talk to him about the matter. “The community is watching who is going to provide reservation,” he said, adding that he should not be blamed for the consequences.
“Students who are filling forms [for admissions to educational courses] from the Economically Weaker Sections category are being removed without any reason,” he alleged. “This should be stopped. All three options of EWS, OBC and Socially and Economically Backward should be kept open. The Maratha community candidates will choose one of them.”
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