Manoj Jarange Patil. File
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
Pro-Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Sunday alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his Cabinet colleague Chhagan Bhujbal had exerted pressure, preventing resolution of the reservation issue.
The activist, who had proposed midnight of July 13 as the deadline for the reservation’s implementation, declared plans for an indefinite fast starting July 20 in response to the Mahayuti government’s alleged inaction.
He criticised the government’s failure to address the reservation matter despite the deadline passing. “I believe, Fadnavis and Bhujbal might have pressurised the government not to solve the Maratha reservation issue,” he said in Jalna district’s Antarwali Sarati village.
On June 13, Mr. Jarange-Patil suspended his indefinite fast over the Maratha quota, six days after launching it, and set a deadline of one month for the Maharashtra government to accept the community’s demands, including 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. He also called for framing a law to identify Kunbis as Marathas, warning that he would field candidates for all 288 Assembly seats in the State election if his demands were not met.
In February this year, the Maharashtra legislature unanimously passed a Bill granting a separate 10% reservation in education and jobs to the Maratha community under a separate category. However, the community has been demanding quota under the OBC grouping, while the OBC leaders are demanding assurance that their quota will remain unaffected. They are rallying behind Mr. Bhujbal to protect their existing quota.
Mr. Jarange-Patil also expressed disappointment that Minister Shambhuraj Desai, a member of the Maratha sub-quota committee, had not reached out to him, suggesting he may have been pressured not to engage with activists.
Looking ahead, the activist indicated a decision on July 20 regarding a meeting of Maratha leaders to determine whether the community will field 288 candidates in the assembly elections or organise a protest march in Mumbai.
Stating that the community has a democratic right to peaceful protest, he accused Mr. Bhujbal of inciting the OBC communities against the Maratha reservation demand but expressed confidence that they would eventually understand the Minister’s intentions.
“Bhujbal stirred discord between the Dhangar community and Marathas and recommending the Dhangars to pursue reservation under the Scheduled Tribe category,” he added.